BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


or  THE 


SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION 


AMERICAS'  INDEPENDENCE: 

THE 

DECLARATION  HISTORICALLY  CONSIDERED; 

A.SD  A  SKETCH   OF  THE   LEADING   EVENTS   CONNECTED  WITH  TH1 
ADOPTION   OF 

THE  ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION. 

AND  OF 

THE    FEDERAL    CONSTITUTION. 


BY  B.  J.  LOSSING, 

AUTHOR  OF   "SEVENTEEN   HUNDRED    AND   SEVENTY-SIX,"   "LIVES   OF  7BB 
PRESIDENTS,"  &.C. 


ILLUSTRATED    BY    FIFTY    PORTRAITS 

AJtfD   OTHER  ENGBAYISOa 


NEW  YORK : 

DERBY    &    JACKSON,    119    NASSAU    STREET. 
1859, 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1843, 

Br  GEO.  F.  COOLEDGE  &  BROTHER, 

to  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  fa 
the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE, 


THERE  are  lessons  of  deep,  abiding  interest,  and  of 
inestimable  value,  to  be  learned  in  studying  the  lives  of 
the  men  who  perilled  their  all  to  secure  the  blesssd 
inheritance  of  free  institutions  which  we  now  enjoy. 
We  do  not  learn  merely  the  dignity  and  sacredness  of 
pure  patriotism,  by  following  them  in  their  career  amid 
the  storms  of  the  Revolution,  but  all  the  virtues  which 
adorn  humanity  are  presented  in  such  bold  relief,  in  the 
private  and  public  actions  of  that  venerated  company, 
that  when  we  rise  from  a  perusal  of''  a  narrative  of  their 
lives,  we  feel  as  if  all  the  noble  Qualities  of  our  common 
manhood  had  been  passing  before  us  in  review,  and 
challenging  our  profound  reverence. 

The  biography  of  a  great  man,  is  an  history  of  his  own 
times  ;  and  when  we  have  perused  the  record  of  the 
actions  of  the  men  of  our  Revolution,  we  have  imbibed  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  great  events  of  that  struggle  for 
Freedom.  If  this  proposition  is  true,  then  we  feel  that 
this  volume  has  a  claim  to  the  public  regard,  for  we  have 
endeavored  to  comprise  within  as  small  a  compass  as  a 
perspicuous  view  of  the  subject  would  allow,  the  chief 
events  in  the  lives  of  the  men  who  stood  sponsors  at  the 
oaptism  in  blood  of  our  Infant  Republic. 

The  memoirs  are  illustrated  by  copious  notes  explana 
tory  of  events  alluded  to  in  the  course  of  the  biographical 
narrative,  and  these,  we  believe,  will  be  found  a  highly 
useful  feature  of  the  work. 

M76154 


IV  PREFACE. 

We  have  made  free  use  of  materials  long  since  laici 
before  the  public  by  abler  pens  than  our  own.  We  did 
not  expect  to  add  much  that  is  new  to  the  biographical 
facts  already  published;  our  aim  was  to  condense  those 
facts  into  the  space  of  a  volume  so  small,  that  the  price  of 
it  would  make  it  accessible  to  our  whole  population.  It 
is  the  mission  of  true  patriotism  to  scatter  the  seeds  of 
knowledge  broad-cast  amid  those  in  the  humbler  walks 
of  society,  because  adventitious  circumstances  deny  them 
access  to  the  full  granary  of  information,  where  the 
wealthy  are  filled;  for  these  humbler  ones  are  equa. 
inheritors  of  the  throne  of  the  people's  sovereignty,  anc 
are  no  less  powerful  than  others  at  the  ballot-box  where 
the  nation  decides  who  its  rulers  shall  be. 

The  final  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  the 
organization  of  the  present  government  of  the  United 
States  under  it,  formed  the  climax — the  crowning  act 
of  the  drama  of  which  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  the  opening  scene.  We  therefore  thought  it  propei 
to  append  to  the  biographies,  a  brief  sketch  of  the  legis 
lative  events  which  led  to  the  formation  and  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  The  Declaration  is  pregnant  with 
grave  charges  against  the  King  of  Great  Britain — charges 
which  his  apologists  have  essayed  to  deny.  We  have 
taken  them  up  in  consecutive  order  as  they  stand  in  the 
document,  and  adduced  proofs  from  historical  facts,  of  the 
truth  of  those  charges.  These  proofs  might  have  been 
multiplied,  but  our  space  would  not  permit  amplification. 

With  these  brief  remarks,  we  send  our  volume  forth 
with  the  pleasing  hope  that  it  may  prove  useful  to  the 
young  and  humble  of  our  beloved  land,  unto  whom  we 
affectionately  dedicate  it. 

B.  J.  L. 
NEW  YORK,  April,  .1848. 


CONTENTS. 


FACE. 

PREFACE, 3 

CONTENTS 5 

INTRODUCTION, 7 

New  Hampshire. 

Josiah  Bartlett, 13 

William  Whipple 17 

Matthew  Thornton, SO 

Massachusetts. 

John  Hancock 22 

John  Adams, 27 

Samuel  Adams, 33 

Robert  Treat  Paine, 37 

Rhode  Island. 

Elbridge  Gerry, ; 40 

Stephen  Hopkins, 44 

William  Ellery, 47 

Connecticut. 

Roger  Sherman, 50 

Samuel  Huntingdon, 53 

William  Williams 56 

Oliver  Wolcott :...  59 

New  York. 

WilliamFloyd, 63 

Philip  Livingston, 67 

Francis  Lewis, 71 

Lewis  Morris, 74 

N&a  Jersey. 

Richard  Stockton, 77 

John  VVitherspoon, 81 

Francis  Hopkinaon, 85 

John  Hart, 87 

Abraham  Clark, ; 90 

Pennsylvania. 

Robert  Morris, 93 

Benjamin  Rush 99 

Benjamin  Franklin, 104 

John  Morton 112 

George  Clymer, 114 

James  Smith , 119 

George  Taylor, 123 


PACK. 

James  Wilson,.... 126 

George  Ross, 130 

Delaware. 

Ceesar  Rodney, 133 

George  Read 137 

Thomas  McKean, 141 

Maryland. 

Samuel  Chase, 148 

Thomas  Stone, 151 

William  Paca, 154 

Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton, ....  157 

Virginia. 

George  Wythe, 162 

Richard  Henry  Lee, 166 

Thomas  Jefferson, 174 

Benjamin  Harrison, 184 

Thomas  Nelson,  Jr 188 

Francis  Lightlbot  Lee, 194 

Carter  Braxton, 197 

North  Carolina,. 

William  Hooper, 201 

Joseph  Hewes, 205 

JohnPenn, 208 

South  Carolina. 

Edward  Rutledge, 211 

Thomas  Hey  ward,  Jr 215 

Thomas  Lynch.Jr 219 

Arthur  Middle  ton, 323 

Georgia. 

Button  Gwinnett, 227 

Lyman  Hall, 229 

George  Walton 233 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  (of  New 

York,  not  a  signer.) 238 

THH  DECLARATION  OF  INDE 
PENDENCE,  244 

ARTICLES  OF  CONFEDERATION,...  310 
THE  FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION,...  329 

APPENDIX. 

THE  STAMP  ACT, 3^1 

NAMES  OF  DELEGATES  TO  THE 

CONSTITUTKAL    CONVENTION,     383 


INTRODUCTION 


.ependence  Hall  as  it  appeared  in  1776. 

ROM  no  point  of  view  can  the  Declaration 
of  American  Independence,  the  causes 
which  led  to  its  adoption,  and  the  events 
which  marked  its  maintenance,  be  ob 
served,  without  exciting  sentiments  of  profound  vene 
ration  for  the  men  who  were  the  prominent  actors  in  that 
remarkable  scene  in  the  drama  of  the  world's  history. 
Properly  to  appreciate  the  true  relative  position  in  which 
those  men  stood  to  the  then  past  and  future,  it  is  necessary 
to  view  the  chain  of  causes  and  effects,  retrospective  and 
prospective,  united  in  them  by  a  brilliant  link. 

For  a  long  series  of  years  the  commercial  policy  oi 
Great  Britain,  in  her  dealings  with  the  American  Colo 
nies,  was  narrow  and  selfish,  and  its  effects  influenced  the 
whole  social  compact  here.  The  colonists  felt  the  injus 
tice  of  many  laws,  but  their  want  of  representation  in  the 
National  Legislature,  and  their  inheren^political  weak 
noss,  obliged  them  to  submit.  But  when  the  wars  with 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  French  and  Indians  called  forth  their  ph/sical  ener 
gies,  ai^:urnitejl,;;m  a  measure,  the  disjointed  settlements, 
scattered  rp  isolated  .communities  along  the  Atlantic  sea- 
;  br>M\df  marked  bylJ\ar.tlly  a  semblance  of  union  in  feeling 
and  interest,  it  was  then  that  they  perceived  the  strength 
and  value  of  unity,  and  talked  with  each  other  respecting 
their  common  rights  and  privileges. 

The  royal  governors  viewed  the  interchange  of  political 
sentiments  between  the  colonies  with  great  disfavor,  foi 
they  saw  therein  the  harbinger  of  their  own  departing 
strength.  Their  representations  to  the  British  Ministry, 
more  than  any  other  single  cause,  contributed  to  the  en 
actment  of  laws  respecting  the  colonies,  that  finally  gene 
rated  that  rebellious  spiiit  in  the  hearts  of  the  Anglo- 
Americans,  which  would  not,  and  did  not,  stop  short  of 
absolute  Political  Independence. 

The  enactment  of  the  Stamp  Act  in  1765,  and  the 
kindred  measures  that  soon  followed,  made  it  plain  to  the 
minds  of  the  colonists  that  even  common  justice  would  be 
denied  them  by  the  Home  Government,  if  its  claims  inter 
fered  with  the  avaricious  demands  of  an  exhausted  trea 
sury.  They  saw  plainly  that  the  King  and  Parliament 
were  resolved  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  all  petitions  and  re 
monstrances  that  were  based  upon  the  righteous  assump 
tion  that  "  TAXATION  AND  EQUITABLE  REPRESENTATION 

ARE  ONE  AND  INSEPARABLE."  As  this  was  a  principle  too 
vital  in  the  very  constitution  of  a  free  people,  to  be  yielded 
the  colonists  felt  the  necessity  of  a  General  Council  to  de 
liberate  upotrthe  solemn  questions  involved.  In  this,  th« 
great  heart  of  colonial  America  seemed  to  beat  with  <>M» 


INTRODl  CTION.  9 

pulsation ;  and  almost  simultaneously,  and  without  pre 
vious  concert,  the  proposition  for  a  General  Congress  was 
put  forth  in  several  of  the  colonies. 

The  time  and  place  for  holding  a  Congress  were  desig 
nated,  and  on  the  fifth  of  September,  1774,  delegates  from 
the  various  colonies  assembled  in  Carpenter's  Hall,  in 
Philadelphia.  Their  deliberations  were  orderly  but  firm. 
Loyalty  to  the  crown,  notwithstanding  its  oppressions,  was 
a  leading  theme  in  their  debates.  Not  a  word  was  whis 
pered  of  dismemberment  and  independence,  but  they 
solemnly  consulted  with  each  other  upon  the  best  means 
of  maintaining  the  integrity  of  the  British  realm,  compati 
ble  with  the  preservation  of  their  own  inalienable  rights. 
To  this  end  their  efforts  were  directed,  and  they  humbly 
petitioned  the  King,  remonstrated  with  Parliament,  and 
appealed  to  their  brethren  in  Great  Britain  for  justice. 
But  their  petitions  and  remonstrances  were  in  vain.  Nevt 
oppressions  were  laid  upon  them,  and  the  blood  of  Ameri 
can  citizens  was  shed  by  British  soldiery  at  Lexington 
and  Concord ! 

Another  Congress  assembled  in  May,  1775,  organized 
a  temporary  general  government,  made  provisions  for  an 
army,  and  appointed  "Washington  commander-in-chief 
And  yet  they  talked  not  of  independence.  They  armed  iu 
defence  of  rights  bestowed  by  the  British  Constitution, 
and  they  were  still  willing  to  lay  their,  down,  and  avow 
their  loyalty,  when  those  rights  should  be  respected. 
Even  with  arms  in  their  hands,  and  successfully  opposing 
the  force  of  British  bayonets,  they  petitioned  and  remon- 

«trated.     But  their  petitions  were  unheeded  ;    their  r<? 

1* 


10  CVTHODUCTION. 

monstiances  were  insultingly  answered ;  And  their  de 
mands  for  justice  were  met  by  swarms  of  armed  merce 
naries,  purchased  by  the  British  Government  of  petty 
German  princes,  and  sent  hither  to  butcher  British  sub 
jects  for  asserting  the  rights  of  British  subjects  ! 

Hope  for  reconciliation  faded  away  at  the  opening  of 
1776,  and  in  June  of  that  year,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of 
Virginia,  offered  a  resolution  in  the  General  Congress, 
declaring  all  allegiance  of  the  colonies  to  the  British  crown, 
at  an  end.  This  bold  proposition  was  soon  after  followed 
by  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  draft  a  Declaration 
of  Independence.  This  committee  consisted  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  Roger  Sher 
man  and  Robert  R.  Livingston.  The  draft  was  made  by 
Jefferson,  and  after  a  few  verbal  alterations  by  Dr.  Frank 
lin  and  Mr.  Adams,  it  was  submitted  to  Congress  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  June.  It  was  laid  upon  the  table  until 
the  first  of  July,  when  it  was  taken  up  in  committee  of 
the  whole,  and  after  several  amendments  were  made,  nine 
States  voted  for  Independence.  The  Assemblies  of  Mary 
land  and  Pennsylvania  refused  their  concurrence;  but 
conventions  of  the  people  having  been  called,  majorities 
were  obtained,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July,  votes  from  all 
the  Colonies  were  procured  in  its  favor,  and  the  thirteen 
united  Colonies  were  declared  free  and  independent  States 

The  Declaration  was  signed  on  that  day,  only  by  John 
Hancock,  the  President  of  Congress,  and  with  his  narr.e 
alone,  it  was  first  sent  forth  to  the  world.  It  was  ordered 
to  be  engrossed  upon  the  Journals  of  Congress,  and  on 
the  second  day  of  August- following,  it  was  signed  by  all 


INTRODUCTION.  1  1 

out  one  of  the  fifty-six  signers  whose  names  aie  appended 
Co  it.  That  one  was  Matthew  Thornton,  who,  on  taking 
his  seat  in  November,  asked  and  obtained  the  privilege  of 
signing  it.  Several  who  signed  it  on  the  second  of 
August,  were  absent  when  it  was  adopted  on  the  fourth 
of  July,  but,  approving  of  it,  they  thus  signified  their  ap 
probation. 

The  signing  of  that  instrument  was  a  solemn  act,  and 
required  great  firmness  and  patriotism  in  those  who  com 
mitted  it.  It  was  treason  against  the  home  government, 
yet  perfect  allegiance  to  the  law  of  right.  It  subjected 
those  who  signed  it  to  the  danger  of  an  ignominious  death, 
yet  it  entitled  them  to  the  profound  reverence  of  a  disen 
thralled  people.  But  neither  firmness  nor  patriotism 
was  wanting  in  that  august  assembly.  And  their  own 
sound  judgment  and  discretion,  their  own  purity  of  pur 
pose  and  integrity  of  conduct,  were  fortified  and  strength 
ened  by  the  voice  of  the  people  in  popular  assemblies, 
embodied  in  written  instructions  for  the  guidance  of  their 
representatives. 

Such  were  the  men  unto  whose  keeping,  as  instruments 
of  Providence,  the  destinies  of  America  were  for  the  time 
intrusted ;  and  it  has  been  well  remarked,  that  men,  other 
than  such  as  these,  —  an  ignorant,  untaught  mass,  like  those 
who  have  formed  the  physical  elements  of  other  revolu 
tionary  movements,  without  sufficient  intellect  to  guide 
and  control  them  —  could  not  have  conceived,  planned,  and 
carried  into  execution,  such  a  mighty  movement,  one  so 
fraught  with  tangible  marks  of  political  wisdom,  as  the 
American  Revolution.  And  it  is  a  matter  of  just  pride  t/j 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

the  American  people,  that  not  one  of  that  noble  band  who 
periled  life,  fortune,  and  honor, in  the  cause;  of  freedom, 
ever  fell  from  his  high  estate  into  moral  degradation,  or 
dimmed,  by  word  or  deed,  the  brightness  of  that  effulgence 
which  halos  the  DECLARATION  OP  AMERICAN  INDEPEN 
DENCE. 

Their  bodies  now  have  all  returned  to  their  kindred 
dust  in  the  grave,  and  their  souls  have  gone  to  receive 
their  reward  in  the  Spirit  Land. 

Congress  was  assembled  in  Independence  Hall,  at 
Philadelphia,  when  the  Declaration  was  adopted,  and,  con 
nected  with  that  event,  the  following  touching  incident  is 
related.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  its  adoption,  the 
venerable  bell-man  ascended  to  the  steeple,  and  a  little 
boy  was  placed  at  the  door  of  the  Hall  to  give  him  notice 
when  the  vote  should  be  concluded.  The  old  man  waited 
long  at  his  post,  saying,  "  They  will  never  do  it,  they  will 
never  do  it."  Suddenly  a  loud  shout  came  up  from  below, 
and  there  stood  the  blue-eyed  boy,  clapping  his  hands, 
and  shouting,  "  Ring  !  Ring  !  !  "  Grasping  the  iron 
tongue  of  the  bell,  backward  and  forward  he  hurled  it  a 
nundred  times,  proclaiming  "  Liberty  to  the  land  and  to 
the  inhabitants  thereof." 


* 


.HE  ancestors  of  JOSIAII  BARTLETT  were 
IfYom  Normandy,  whence  they  emi- 
=  rrated  to  England.  The  name  was 
|  conspicuous  in  English  History  at  an 
early  date.  Toward  the  close  of  tlm 
j  seventeenth  century  a  branch  of  the 
family  emigrated  to  America,  anc*  set- 
of  Beverley,  in  Massachusetts.  Josiah 
was  born  in  Amesbury,  in  Massachusetts,  in  November, 
1729.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Webster,  and 

1 3 


14  NKW    1IAMPSI1IRK. 

she  was  a  relative  of  the  family  of  the  great  statesman  of 
that  name  of  our  time. 

Young  Bartlett  lacked  the  advantage  of  a  collegiate 
education,  but  he  improved  an  opportunity  for  acquiring 
some  knowledge  of  the  Greek  and  Latin,  which  offered 
in  the  family  of  a  relative,  the  Rev.  Doctor  Webster. 
He  chose  for  a  livelihood  the  practice  of  the  medical  pro 
fession,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  science  when 
he  was  sixteen  years  old.  His  opportunities  for  acquir 
ing  knowledge  from  books  were  limited,  but  the  active  en 
ergies  of  his  mind  supplied  the  deficiency,  in  a  measure, 
and  he  passed  an  examination  with  honor  at  the  close  of 
his  studies.  He  commenced  practice  at  Kingston  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  proving  skillful  and  successful,  bis  busi 
ness  soon  became  lucrative,  and  he  amassed  a  compe 
tency. 

Mr.  Bartlett  was  a  stern,  unbending  republicai .  »n  prin 
ciple,  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  he  was  highly  o  .teemed 
by  Wentworth,  the  royal  governor,*  and  received  from 
him  a  magistrate's  commission,  and  also  the  command  of 
a  regiment  of  militia.  In  1765  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  provincial  legislature  of  New  Hampshire.  It  was 
at  the  time  when  the  Stamp  Actf  was  before  the  British 
Parliament,  and  Mr.  Bartlett  soon  became  a  prominent 
leader  of  a  party  that  opposed  the  various  oppressive 
measures  of  the  home  government.  Through  Wentworth, 
magnificent  bribes  were  offered  him,  but  his  patriotism 
was  inflexible. 

*  As  a  general  rule  the  royal  governors  looked  with  disfavor  upon  all  demo 
cvatic  movements,  and  withdrew  and  withheld  their  support  from  those  whi 
manifested  decided  republicanism  in  their  sentiments.  The  obvious  reason  foi- 
this  was,  that  the  voice  of  republicanism  sounded  in  their  ears  like  the  death  knel. 
of  their  power  and  place. 

1  The  Stamp  Act  required  all  legal  instruments  of  writing,  Buch  as  mils,  deeds, 
mCrtgages,  marriage  certificates,  <fcc.,  to  be  written  upon  paper  stamped  with  the 
royal  arms  of  Britain.  An  officer  called  a  "  Stamp  Master"  was  appointed  to  sell 
them,  and  thus  Great  Britain  indirectly  taxed  her  American  colonies  without  their 
consent. 


JOSIA11    KARTLETT.  15 

In  1776  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  Safety  of  his  State.  The  governor  was  alarmed  when 
this  committee  was  appointed,  and  to  prevent  the  trans 
action  of  other  business  of  a  like  nature,  he  dissolved  the 
Assembly.  They  re-assembled  in  spite  of  the  governor, 
and  Dr.  Bartlett  was  at  the  head  of  this  rebellious  move 
ment.  He  was  soon  after  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,*  and  in  1775,  Governor  Wentworth 
struck  his  name  from  the  magistracy  list,  and  deprived  him 
of  his  military  commission.  Still  he  was  active  in  the  pro 
vincial  assembly,  and  the  governor,  despairing  of  re  concili 
ation,  and  becoming  somewhat  alarmed  for  his  own  safety, 
left  the  province.  The  provincial  Congressf  assumed  the 
reins  of  government,  and  immediately  re-appointed  Dr. 
Bartlett  colonel  of  militia. 

In  August,  1775,  he  was  again  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  was  again  re-elected  in  1776. 
He  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  devise  a  plan 
for  the  confederation  of  the  States,"  as  proposed    a  June 
by   Dr.    Franklin,     He  warmly  supported  the      177U 
proposition  for  independence,  and  when,  on  the  second 
of  August,    1776,  the  members  of  Congress  signed  the 
Declaration,  Dr.  Bartlett  was  the  first  who  affixed  his  sig 
nature,     New  Hampshire  being  ue  first  State  called. 

In  1778,  he  obtained  leave  from  Congress  to  visit  his 
family  and  look  after  his  private  affairs,  which  had  be 
come  much  deranged.  He  did  not  resume  his  seat  again 
in  that  body.  In  1779  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the 
muster  master  of  its  troops.  He  was  afterward  raised  to 
the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  took  an  active  part 

*  First  convened  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  fourth  of  September,  1774. 

t  Before  actual  hostilities  commenced,  nearly  all  the  colonies  were  acting  inde 
pendent  of  the  royal  governors  and  their  councils,  and  provincial  Congresses  were 
organized,  which  performed  all  tho  duties  of  independent  State  legislatures. 


1C  N'ENV     HAMPSHIRE. 

in  the  Convention  of  his  State,  in  favor  of  the  Constitution 
of  1787,  and  when  it  was  adopted,  he  was  elected  a  mem 
ber  of  the  first  Senate  that  convened  under  it  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  But  he  declined  the  honor,  and  did  not 
take  his  seat  there.  He  had  been  previously  chosen  Pres 
ident  of  New  Hampshire,  and  held  that  responsiole  of 
fice  until  1793,  when  he  was  elected  the  first  governor  of 
that  State,  under  the  Federal  Constitution.*  He  held  the 
office  one  year,  and  then  resigning  it,  he  retired  to  pri 
vate  life,  and  sought  that  needful  repose  which  the  de 
clining  years  of  an  active  existence  required.  He  had 
served  his  country  faithfully  in  its  hour  of  deepest  peril, 
and  the  benedictions  of  a  free  people  followed  him  to 
his  domestic  retreat.  But  ha  was  not  permitted  long  to 
bless  his  family  with  his  presence,  nor  was  he  allowed  to 
witness  his  country  entirely  fvoo  from  perils  of  great  mag 
nitude,  that  threatened  its  dcstiuction,  while  the  elements 
of  the  new  experiment  in  governm  3>.it  were  yet  unstable, 
for  in  1795  death  called  him  away.  He  died  on  the  nine 
teenth  of  May  of  that  year,  in  tho  sJxty-sixth  year  of  his 
age. 

*  So  jealous  were  the  people  of  State  Rights,  tba*  t*\c  Federal  Constitution  was 
warmly  opposed  in  many  parts  of  the  Union,  because  >of  its  apparent  nullification 
of  those  rights,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  several  ot  tbe  States  so  long  delayed 
to  ratify  that  instrument.  The  following  table  extiioiis  the  dates  of  the  ratifica 
tion  of  the  Constitution  by  the  thirteen  old  States. 


Delaware,  Dec.  7 1~87 

Pennsylvania,  Dec.  12 1787 

New  Jersey,  Dec.  18 1787 

Georgia,  Jan.  2, 1788 

Connecticut,  Jan.  9, 1788 

Massachusetts,  Feb.  6, 1788 

Maryland,  April  28, 1788 


South  Ca/o,ina,  Miy  CX.. 1788 

New  Harapshiis,  J.iv-e  f\ 1788 

Virginia,  June  2* - 1788 

New  Y>rk,  Jalyi-6 .  .......  1788 

North  enroling  Nt«v.  S\. .  ,  ,       .1785 
Rhode  Island,  May  & 173C 


ILLIAM  WIIIPPLE  was  born  at  Kittery, 
in  New  Hampshire  (that  portion  which 
is  now  the  State  of  Maine)  in  the  year 
1730.  His  early  education  was  received 
at  a  common  school  in  his  native  town. 
When  quite  a  lad,  he  went  to  sea,  in 
which  occupation  he  was  engaged  for 
several  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty  nine  a  he 
quitted  the  seafaring  life,  and,  with  his  brother, 
Joseph  "Whipple,  entered  into  mercantile  pursuits  in 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

He  early  espoused  the  cause  of  the  colonies  and  SOOP 

17 


751) 


18  NEW    HAMPSHIRE. 

became  a  leader  among  the  opposition  to  British  authority 
In  1775  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress  of  New  Hampshire,  and  was  chosen  by  that  body, 
one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety.*  When,  in  1775,  the 
people  of  that  State  organized  a  temporary  government, 
Mr.  Whipple  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Council.  In 
January,  1776,  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Continen 
tal  Congress,  and  was  among  those  who,  on  the  fourth  cf 
July  of  that  year,  vc;ed  for  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence.  He  remained  in  Congress  until  1777,  when  he 
retired  from  that  body,  having  been  appointed  a  Briga 
dier  General  of  the  New  Hampshire  Militia.  He  was 
very  active  in  calling  out  and  equipping  troops  for  the 
campaign  against  Burgoyne.  He  commanded  one  brig 
ade,  and  General  Stark  the  other.  He  was  under  Gates 
at  the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  and  was  one  of  the  commis 
sioners  to  arrange  the  terms  of  capitulation.  He  was 
afterward  selected  one  of  the  officers  to  march  the  British 
prisoners  to  Cambridge,  near  Boston. 

He  joined  Sullivan  in  his  expedition  against  the  British 
on  Rhode  Island  in  1778,  with  a  pretty  large  force  of 
New  Hampshire  Militia.  But  the  perverse  conduct  of 
the  French  Admiral  D'Estaing,  in  not  sustaining  the  siege 
of  Newport,!  caused  a  failure  of  the  expedition,  and 
General  Whipple,  with  his  brigade,  returned  to  New 
Hampshire. 

In  1780,  he  was  offered  the  situation  of  Commissioner 

*  These  committees  were  organized  in  several  of  the  States.  Their  business 
was  to  act  as  an  executive  body  to  regulate  the  general  concerns  of  the  govern 
ment  during  the  continuance  of  the  war.  These  committees  were  of  vast  im 
portance,  and  acted  efficiently  in  conjunction  with  the  committees  of  correspond 
ence.  In  some  instances  they  consisted  each  of  the  same  men. 

t  The  Count  D'Estaing  agreed  to  assist  Sullivan  in  reducing  the  town  of  New 
port,  but  just  as  he  was  entering  the  harbor,  the  fleet  of  Lord  Howe,  from  New- 
York,  appeared,  and  he  proceeded  to  attack  him.  A  storm  prevented  an  engage 
ment,  and  both  fleets  were  greatly  damaged  by  the  gale.  D'Estaing,  instead  of  re. 
maining  to  assist  Sullivan,  sailed  for  Boston,  under  the  pretence  of  repairing  hi? 
shattered  vessels 


fVlLLIAM    WHIPPLE.  19 

of  the  Board  of  Admiralty,  but  declined  it.  In  1782,  he 
was  appointed  by  Robert  Morris,  financial  agent  in  New 
Hampshire,  *  but  he  resigned  the  trust  in  the  course  of  a 
year.  During  that  year,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  settle  the  dispute  between  Pennsylvania 
and  Connecticut,  concerning  the  Wyoming  domain,  and 
was  appointed  president  of  the  Court.f  He  was  also  ap 
pointed,  during  that  year,  a  side  judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  of  New  Hampshire.J 

Soon  after  his  appointment,  in  attempting  to  sum  up 
the  arguments  of  counsel,  and  submit  the  case  to  the  jury, 
he  was  attacked  with  a  violent  palpitation  of  the  heart, 
which  ever  after  troubled  him.  In  1785  he  was  seriously 
affected  while  holding  court ;  and,  retiring  to  his  cham 
ber,  he  never  left  it  again  while  living.  He  expired  on 
the  twenty-eighth  day  of  November,  1785,  in  the  fifty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.  He  requested  a  post  mortem  exami 
nation,  which  being  done,  it  was  found  that  a  portion  of 
his  heart  had  become  ossified,  or  bony.  Thus  terminated 
the  valuable  life  of  one  who  rose  from  the  post  of  a  cabin 
boy,  to  a  rank  among  the  first  men  of  his  country.  His 
life  and  character  present  one  of  those  bright  examples 
of  self-reliance  which  cannot  be  too  often  pressed  upon 
tho  attention  of  the  young  ;  and,  although  surrounding 
circumstances  had  much  to  do  in  the  development  of  his 
talents,  yet,  after  all,  the  great  secret  of  his  success  was 
doubtless  a  hopeful  reliance  upon  a  conscious  ability  to 
perform  any  duty  required  of  him. 

*  Robert  Morris  was  then  the  manager  of  the  finances  of  the  Confederation, 
and  these  agents  in  the  various  States  were  a  kind  of  sub-  treasurers.  Hence  it 
was  an  office  that  required  honest  and  faithful  incumbents. 

t  The  early  western  boundary  of  Connecticut,  before  the  organization  of  .New 
York,  was,  like  most  of  the  other  States  on  the  Atlantic,  quite  indefinite.  A  Colony 
from  this  province  had  settled  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  and  that  region  was  not  in 
cluded  in  New  York.  It  was  within  the  bounds  of  Pennsylvania,  hence  the  dispute. 

I  At  that  time  the  Courts  in  New  Hampshire  were  constituted  of  four  judges,  of 
whom  the  first,  or  Chief  Justice,  only,  was  a  lawyer,  the  others  being  chosen  fi  on* 
among  civilians,  distinguished  for  sound  judgment,  and  a  good  education 


$//ATTHE\V  THORNTON  was  born  in  Ire 


land,  in  1714,  and  was  brought  to 
jll  this  country  by  his  father  when  he 
was  between  two  and  three  years  of 
age.  His  father,  when  he  emigrated 
to  America,  first  settled  at  Wiscasset. 
in  Maine,  and  in  the  course  of  a  tew 
years  moved  to  Worcester,  in" Massachusetts,  where  he 
gave  his  son  an  academical  education,  with  a  view  to  fit 
him  for  one  of  the  learned  professions.  Matthew  chose 
the  medical  profession,  and  at  the  close  of  his  preparatory 
studies,  he  commenced  his  business  career  in  London 
derry,  New  Hampshire.  He  became  eminent  as  a  phy 
sician,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  acquired  a  hand 
some  fortune. 

In  1745  he  was  appointed  surgeon  of  the  New  Hamp 
shire  troops,  and  accompanied  them  in  the  expedition 
against  Louisburg.*  After  his  return  he  was  appointed 
by  the  royal  governor  (Wentwoith)  a  Colonel  of  Militia, 
and  also  a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  early  espoused  tho 
cause  of  the  colonists,  and  soon,  like  many  others,  be 
came  obnoxious  to  the  governor.  His  popularity  among 
the  people  was  a  cause  of  jealousy  and  alarm  on  the  part 
of  the  chief  magistrate. 

When  the  provincial  government  of  New  Hampshire 
was  organized,  on  the  abdication  of  Governor  Wentwoith. 

*  Lciuisburg  was  a  fortress  upon  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  Nova  Scotia,  then 
in  possession  of  the  French,  and  was  considered  one  of  the  strongest  fortifica 
tions  in  America. 

20 


NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  21 

Di  Thomton  was  elected  president.*  When  the  pro 
vincial  Congress  was  organized  he  was  chosen  Speaker 
of  the  House. a  In  September  of  the  same  year,  a  Jan 
he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  i770' 
Congress  for  one  year,  and  was  permitted  to  sign  his 
name  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  when  he  took 
his  seat  in  November.!  In  January,  1776,  (prior  to 
his  election  to  the  Continental  Congress)  he  was  appointed 
a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  his  State,  having  pre 
viously  been  elected  a' member  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas.  In  December  of  that  year,  he  was  again  elected 
to  the  general  Congress  for  one  year  from  the  twenty- 
third  of  January,  1777.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term 
he  withdrew  from  Congress,  and  only  engaged  in  public 
affairs  as  far  as  his  office  as  judge  required  his  services. 
He  resigned  his  judgeship  in  1782. 

In  1789,  Dr.  Thornton  purchased  a  farm  in  Exeter, 
where  he  resided  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took 
place  while  on  a  visit  to  his  daughters  in  Newburyport, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  twenty -fourth  of  June,  1803.  He 
was  then  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  his  age. 

Dr.  Thornton  was  greatly  beloved  by  ah1  who  knew 
him,  and  to  the  close  of  his  long  life  he  was  a  consistent 
and  zealous  Christian.  He  always  enjoyed  remarkably 
good  health,^  and,  by  the  practice  of  those  hygeian  virtues, 
temperance  and  c7ieerfulness,  he  attained  a  patriarchal  age. 

*  This  provisional  government  was  intrusted  to  men  little  experienced  in  po 
litical  matters,  and  only  elected  for  six  months,  yet  they  were  men  of  nerve  and 
prudence,  and  under  the  advice  and  direction  of  the  Continental  Congress,  they 
succeeded  well. 

t  Dr.  Thornton  was  not  the  only  one  to  whom  this  indulgence  was  granted. 
There  were  several  members  absent  when  the  vrte  was  taken  on  the  adoption  01* 
that  instrument  on  the  fourth  of  July,  but  who,  approving  of  the  measure,  subse 
quently  signed  their  names  thereto. 

J  At  the  age  of  eighty-one  he  had  a  severe  attack  of  the  hooping  cough,  which 
ever  afterward  caused  a  weakness  of  the  lungs,  and  a  tendency  to  pulmonary 


NE  of  the  most  distinguished  person 
ages  of  the  War  of  Independence, 
was  John  Hancock,  who  was  born 
near  the  village  of  Quincy,  in  Mas 
sachusetts,  in  the  year  1737.  His 
father  and  grandfather  were  bom 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  His  fathei 

is  represented  as  a  pious,  industrious,  and  faithful  pastor  ; 

a  friend  of  the  poor,  and  a  patron  of  learning.  He  ciiod 

22 


JOHN   II  1  \COCK. 


while  John  was  quite  an  infant,  and  left  him  to  the  care  oi 
a  paternal  uncle,  who  cherished  him  with  great  affection. 
This  relative  was  a  merchant  in  Boston,  who  had  amassed 
a  large  fortune,  and  after  having  given  John  a  collegiate 
education  at  Harvard  College  (where  at  the  age  of  seven 
teen  years  he  graduated)0  he  took  him  into  his 
counting-room  as  clerk.  His  abilities  proved 
such,  that,  in  1760,  he  sent  him  on  a  business  mission  to 
England,  where  he  was  present  at  the  funeral  rites  of 
George  II.,  and  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  George  III. 
Soon  after  his  return  to  America,  his  uncle  died,  and  left 
him,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  in  possession  of  a  princely 
fortune  —  one  of  the  largest  in  the  Province  of  Massa 
chusetts. 

He  soon  relinquished  his  commercial  pursuits,  and  be 
came  an  active  politician,  always  taking  sides  with  those 
whose  sentiments  were  liberal  and  democratic.  He  was 
soon  noticed  and  appreciated  by  his  townsmen  in  Boston, 
and  was  chosen  by  them  one  of  its  selectmen,  an  office  of 
much  consideration  in  those  days.  In  1766,  he  was 
chosen  a  representative  for  Boston  in  the  General  Pro 
vincial  Assembly,  where  he  had  for  his  colleagues  some 
of  the  most  active  patriots  of  the  day,  such  as  Samuel 
Adams,  James  Otis,  and  Thomas  Gushing. 

Years  before  Mr.  Hancock  entered  upon  public  life, 
the  tyrannous  measures  of  the  British  cabinet  had  ex 
cited  the  fears  of  the  American  colonies,  and  aroused  a 
sentiment  of  resistance  that  long  burned  in  the  people's 
hearts  before  it  burst  forth  into  a  flame  of  rebellion. 

These  feelings  were  familiar  to  the  bosom  of  young 
Hancock,  for  he  imbibed  the  principles  of  liberty  with  the 
breath  of  his  infancy,  and  when  circumstances  called  foi 
a  manifestation  thereof,  they  exhibited  the  sturdy  vigor 
of  maturity. 

When  Parliament  adopted  those  obnoxious  measuj«?s 


24,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

toward  America,  which  immediately  succeeded  tho  odioua 
Stamp  Act,  Mr.  Hancock  was  a  member  of  the  Provin 
cial  Assembly,  and,  in  union  with  those  patriots  before 
named,  and  others,  he  determined  not  to  submit  to  them. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  who  proposed  and  adopted  non 
importation  measures,  a  system  which  gradually  spread 
to  the  other  colonies,  and  produced  a  powerful  effect  upon 
the  home  government.  Open  resistance  at  length  became 
common,  and  the  name  of  Hancock  figures  conspicuously 
in  the  commotions  that  agitated  Boston  for  more  than  eight 
years.*  He  became  a  popular  leader  and  drew  upon 
himself  the  direst  wrath  of  offended  royalty,  t 

At  the  time  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  and  during  the 
commotion  known  as  the  Tea  Riot,  Mr.  Hancock  was 
bold  and  active  ;  and  in  March,  1774,  on  the  occasion  of 
the  anniversary  of  the  "  Massacre,"  he  boldly  delivered 
an  oration,  in  which  he  spoke  in  most  indignant  terms  of 
the  acts  and  measures  of  the  British  Government. 

In  1767,  Mr.  Hancock  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Executive  Council,  but  the  choice  was  so  displeasing  to 
the  governor,  that  he  rejected  him.  He  was  again  and 
again  elected,  and  as  often  rejected,  and  this  served  to  in 
crease  his  popularity  among  the  people.  At  last  th* 

*  One  of  the  earliest  acts  of  open  resistance,  was  on  the  occasion  of  tho  seizure 
of  the  Sloop  Liberty,  belonging  to  Mr.  Hancock,  by  the  Custom  House  officers, 
under  the  plea  that  she  was  loaded  with  goods  contrary  to  the  revenue  laws. 
The  people  were  greatly  exasperated ;  they  beat  the  officers  with  clubs,  and 
obliged  them  to  fly  to  Castle  William,  at  the  entrance  of  Boston  harbor,  for 
safety.  They  also  burned  the  Collector's  boat,  and  committed  other  acts  of  vio 
lence.  These  transactions  gave  the  royal  governor  an  excuse  he  wished  for  to  in 
troduce  British  troops  into  the  city.  This  measure  excited  the  indignation  of  the 
people  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  almost  daily  quarrels  took  place  hi  the  streets  be 
tween  the  citizens  and  the  soldiers,  which  finally  resulted  in  the  death  of  three 
Americans,  hi  March,  1770,  by  shots  from  the  soldiers'  muskets —  an  eveut  known 
as  The  Boston  Massacre. 

t  In  the  terms  of  general  pardon  offered  in  1775,  John  Hancock  and  Samuel 
Adams  were  excluded,  as  arch  rebels.  The  night  preceding  the  battle  of  Lexing 
ton,  Hancock  and  Adams  lodged  together,  in  that  village.  An  armed  party  was 
Bent  by  Governor  Gage  to  arrest  them,  and  they  narrowly  escaped,  for  as  the  iol 
dicrs  entered  one  door,  thoy  went  out  through  another. 


JOHN    HANCOCK.  5 

governor,  for  reasons  not  easily  divined,  sanctioned  his 
appointment,  and  received  him  into  the  Council.  * 

In  1774,  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts 
unanimously  elected  Hancock  their  president.  The  same 
year  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Con 
gress  ;  and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  station  in  1775. 
When,  during  the  summer  of  that  year,  Peyton  Randolph 
left  the  presidential  chair  of  that  body,  John  Hancock 
was  elected  to  the  station,  —  a  gift  the  most  exalted,  pos 
sessed  by  the  American  people.  In  that  office  he  labored 
arduously,  and  filled  that  chair  on  the  ever  memorable 
Fourth  of  July,  1776.  As  President,  he  first  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  with  his  name  alone,  it 
first  went  forth  to  the  world.  His  bold  signature,  the 
very  index  of  his  character ,  has  always  excited  the  admi 
ration  of  the  beholder. 

Mr.  Hancock  resigned  the  office  of  President  of  Con 
gress  in  1777,  owing  to  the  precarious  state  of  his  h.ealthi 
and  fhe  calls  of  his  private  affairs,  which  had  been  neces 
sarily  much  neglected,  and  he  hoped  to  pass  the  remain 
der  of  his  life  in  the  retirement  of  the  domestic  circle.  | 
But  that  pleasure  he  was  not  suffered  long  to  enjoy  by  his 
fellow  citizens.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
vention  of  Massachusetts  to  form  a  Constitution  for  the 
government  of  that  commonwealth.  Therein  he  was  as. 
siduous  as  usual,  and  upon  him  was  first  conferred  the 
honor,  under  the  instrument  of  their  adoption,  of  being 
Governor  of  the  Province,  or  State.  He  was  the  first  who 

*  Governor  Bernard  had  tried  in  vain  to  win  him  from  the  cause  of  the  patriots.. 
In  1767,  before  his  election  to  the  council,  he  had  complimented  him  wiih  a  Lieu 
tenant's  commission,  but  Hancock,  seeing  clearly  the  nefarious  design  which  it 
but  half  concealed,  tore  up  the  commission  in  the  presence  of  the  people. 

t  The  ravages  of  the  gout,  which  was  a  disease  hereditary  in  his  family,  made 
serious  inroads  upon  his  general  health  while  engaged  in  the  arduous  services  of 
public  station. 

{.  He  was  married  in  1773,  to  Miss  Quincy,  a  relative  of  the  Adams'  by  whom 
he  had  only  one  son.  He  died  in  youth,  and  consequent^  Wnfw»"*-  -ft  no  heir 
to  perpetuato  his  nnmo. 

2 


26  MASSACHUSETTS. 

had  this  dignity  conferred  by  the  voluntary  suffrages  of 
the  people.  He  held  the  office  five  consecutive  years,  by 
annual  election.  For  two  years  he  declined  the  honor, 
but  again  accepted  it,  and  held  the  office  until  his  death, 
in  1793. 

He  was  governor  during  that  period  of  confusion  which 
followed  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  its 
final  ratification  by  the  several  States,  and  his  wisdom  and 
firmness  proved  greatly  salutary  in  restraining  those  law 
less  acts  which  a  spirit  of  disaffection  toward  the  general 
government  had  engendered  in  New  England,  and  par 
ticularly  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.*  Of 
course  his  character  and  motives  were  aspersed  by  the 
interested,  but  when  the  agitation  ceased,  and  the  clouds 
passed  away,  his  virtues  and  exalted  character,  shone  with 
a  purer  lustre  than  before. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  Massa 
chusetts  to  act  on  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion,  arid  was  chosen  president  of  that  body ;  but  sickness 
prevented  his  attendance  until  the  last  week  of  the  ses 
sion.  He  voted  for  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  and 
by  his  influence,  a  majority  voted  with  him. 

Mr.  Hancock  continued  a  popular  leader  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  and  no  one  could  successfully  contend  with 
him  for  office.  He  was  not  a  man  of  extraordinary  talent, 
but  was  possessed  of  that  tact  and  peculiar  genius  fitted 
for  the  era  in  which  he  lived.  He  was  beloved  by  all  his 
cotemporaries,  and  posterity  venerates  his  name,  as  a. 
benefactor  of  his  country.  He  died  on  the  eighth  of 
October,  1793,  in  the  fifty -fifth  year  of  his  age. 

*  The  theory  prevailed  to  a  great  extent  in  New  Englaui,  that  all  having  con 
tributed  to  defend  the  national  property,  they  all  had  an  equal  right  to  posses 
sion,  thus  regarding  the  matter  in  the  light  of  personal  and  individual  interest, 
rather  than  in  that  of  general  welfare.  Popular  excitements  occurred.  In  Ex 
eter,  in  New  Hampshire,  a  mob  made  prisoners  of  the  members  of  the  Genera] 
Assembly.  In  Massachusetts,  an  insurrectionary  movement,  led  by  Daniel  Shay, 
(known  as  Shay's  insurrection)  was  so  extensive,  that  four  thousand  militia  were 
called  '»--t  to  suppress  It 


O  LOFTIER  genius  nor  purer  patriot 
wore  the  Senatorial  robe  during  the 
struggle  for  Independence,  than 
John  Adams.  He  was  born  at 
Braintree  (now  Quincy),  in  Massa 
chusetts,  on  the  thirtieth  of  October, 
1735,  and  .was  a  direct  lineal  de- 
scendant,  in  the  fourth  generation,  from  Henry  Adams, 
who  fled  from  the  "persecutions^. in  England  during  the 
reign  of  the  first  Charles.*  His  maternal  ancestor  was 

*  Archbishop  Laud,  the  spiritual  adviser  of  Cliarlos  I.  (influenced-  no  doubt  by 
the  Roman  Catholic  Queen,  Henrietta  Maria)  took  especial  pains  to  enforce  tha 
strictest  observance  of  the  Liturgy  of  the  established  Church  of  England4  in  fhs 

2-7 


28  MASSACHUSETTS. 

John  Alden,  a  passenger  in  the  May-Flower,  and  thus  the 
subject  of  our  memoir  inherited  from  both  parental  an 
cestors,  the  title  of  a  Son  of  Liberty,  which  was  subse 
quently  given  to  him  and  others.*  His  primary  educa 
tion  was  derived  in  a  school  at  Braintree,  and  there  he 
passed  through  a  preparatory  course  of  instruction  for 
Harvard  Unirersity,  whence  he  graduated  at  the  age  of 

a  1755.     twenty  years.0 

Having  chosen  the  law  as  a  profession,  he  entered 
upon  the  study  of  it  with  an  eminent  banister  in  Wor- 
ce«ter,  by  the  name  of  Putnam.  There  he  had  the  ad 
vantage  of  sound  legal  instruction,  and  through  Mr.  Put 
nam  he  became  acquainted  with  many  distinguished  pub 
lic  men,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Gridley,  the  Attorney- 
General.  Their  fiist  interview  awakened  sentiments  of 
mutual  regard,  and  young  Adams  was  allowed  the  free 
use  of  Mr.  Gridley's  extensive  library,  a  privilege  of  great 
value  in  those  days.  It  was  a  rich  treasure  thrown  open 
to  him,  and  its  value  was  soon  apparent  in  the  expansion 
of  his  general  knowledge.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1758,  and  commenced  practice  in  Braintree. 

At  an  early  period,  young  Adams'  mind  was  turned  to 
the  contemplation  of  the  general  politics  of  his  country, 
and  the  atmosphere  of  liberal  principles  in  which  he  had 
been  born  and  nurtured,  gave  a  patriotic  bias  to  his  judg 
ment  and  feelings.  He  watched  narrowly  the  m  jvcments 
of  the  British  government  toward  the  American  colonies, 
and  was  ever  out-spoken  in  his  condemnation  of  its  op 
pressive  acts. 

He  was  admitted  as  a  barrister  in  1761,  and  as  his  pro 
fessional  business  increased,  and  his  acquaintance  among 

Church  of  Scotland,  and  also  La  the  Puritan  Churches.  Those  individuals  and 
congiegationa  who  would  not  conform  to  these  requirements  were  severely 
dealt  with,  and  these  persecutions  drove  a  great  many  to  the  western  world,  where 
they  might  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences. 

*  This  name  was  given  to  the  American  patriots  b)    Colonel  Barref  on  tho  floor 

the  British  House  of  Commons. 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


distinguished  politicians  extended,  he  became  more  pub- 
licly  active,  until  in  1765,  when  the  Stamp  Act  had  raised 
a  perfect  hurricane  in  America,  he  wrote  and  published 
his  "  Essay  on  the  Canon  and  Feudal  Law."  This  pro 
duction  at  once  placed  him  high  in  the  popular  esteem  ; 
and  the  same  year  he  was  associated  with  James  Otis  and 
others,  to  demand,  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  governor, 
that  the  courts  should  dispense  with  the  use  of  stamped 
paper  in  the  administration  of  justice. 

In  1766  Mr.  Adams  married  Abigail  Smith,  the  ami 
able  daughter  of  a  pious  clergyman  of  Braintree,  and  soon 
afterward  he  removed  to  Boston.  There  he  was  actively 
associated  with  Hancock,  Otis,  and  others,  in  the  various 
measures  in  favor  of  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  was 
very  energetic  in  endeavors  to  have  the  military  removed 
from  the  town.  Governor  Bernard  endeavored  to  bribe 
him  to  silence,  at  least,  by  offers  of  lucrative  offices,  but 
they  were  all  rejected  with  disdain. 

When,  after  the  Boston  Massacre,  Captain  Preston  and 
his  men  were  arraigned  for  murder,  Mr.  Adams  was  ap 
plied  to,  to  act  as  counsel  in  their  defence.  Popular  fa 
vor  on  one  side,  and  the  demands  of  justice  and  humanity 
on  the  other,  were  the  horns  of  the  dilemma  betweer 
which  Mr.  Adams  was  placed  by  the  application.  But  he 
was  not  long  in  choosing.  He  accepted  the  invitation 
—  he  defended  the  prisoners  successfully  —  Captain  Pres 
ton  was  acquitted,  and,  notwithstanding  the  tremendous 
excitement  that  existed  against  the  soldiers,  the  patriotism 
of  Mr.  Adams  was  too  far  above  suspicion  to  make  this 
defence  of  the  enemy  a  cause  for  withdrawing  from  him 
the  confidence  which  the  people  reposed  in  nim.  His 
friends  applauded  him  lor  the  act,  and  the  people  were 
satisfied,  as  was  evident  by  their  choosing  him,  that  same 
year,a  a  representative  in  the  provincial  Assem-  a  1770 
bly. 


SO  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Mr.  Adams  became  very  obnoxious  to  poth  Governors 
Bernard  and  Hutchinson.  He  was  elected  to  a  seat  in 
the  Executive  council,  but  the  latter  erased  his  name.  He 
was  again  elected  when  Governor  Gage  assumed  au 
thority,  and  he  too  erased  his  name.  These  things  in 
creased  his  popularity.  Soon  after  the  accession  of  Gage 
the  Assemb  y  at  Salem*  adopted  a  proposition  for  a  gen 
eral  Congress,  and  elected  five  delegates  thereto  in  spite 
of  the  efforts  of  the  governor  to  prevent  it.  John  Adams 
was  one  of  those  delegates,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  first 
Continental  Congress,  convened  in  Philadelphia  on  the 
fifth  of  September,  177^.  He  was  again  elected  a  dele 
gate  in  1775,  and  through  his  influence,  George  Wash 
ington  of  Virginia  was  elected  Commander-in-Chief  of 
all  the  forces  of  the  United  Colonies.! 

On  the  sixth  of  May,  1776,  Mr.  Adams  introduced  a 
motion  in  Congress  "  that  the  colonies  should  form  gov 
ernments  independent  of  tlie  Crown."  This  motion  was 
equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  independence,  and  when,  a 
month  afterward,  Richard  Henry  Lee  introduced  a  mo 
tion  more  explicity  to  declare  the  colonies  free  and  in 
dependent,  Mr.  Adams  was  one  of  its  warmest  advocates. 
He  was  appointed  one  of  the  committee  to  draft  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,!  and  he  placed  his  signa 
ture  to  that  document  on  the  second  of  August,  1776. 
After  the  battle  of  Long  Island  he  was  appointed  by 

*  The  "Boston  Port  Bill,"  so  called,  which  was  adopted  by  Parliament,  closed 
the  port  of  Boston,  removed  the  Custom  House  therefrom,  its  law  Courts,  &c^ 
and  the  meeting  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  was  called  at  Salem.  This  oppres 
sive  act  was  intended  to  have  a  two-fold  effect —  to  punish  the  Bostonians  for 
the  tea  riot,  and  awe  them  into  submission  to  the  royal  will.  But  it  effected 
neither. 

t  Mr.  Adams  did  not  nominate  Washington,  as  has  been  frequently  stated.  He 
gave  notice  that  he  should  "propose  a  member  of  Congress  from  Virginia," 
which  was  understood  to  be  Washington,  but,  for  reasons  that  do  not  appear, 
upon  the  journals,  he  was  nominated  by  Thomas  Johnson,  of  Maryland. 

J  The  committee  consisted  of  Dr.  Franklin,  Thomas  Jefferson,  John  Adams 
Roger  Sherman,  and  Robert  11.  Livingston 


JOHN  ADAMS.  31 

Congress,  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  Edward  Rutledge,  to 
meet  Lord  Howe  in  conference  upon  Staten  Island,  con 
cerning  the  pacification  of  the  colonies.  According  to  his 
prediction,  the  mission  failed.  Notwithstanding  his  great 
labors  in  Congress,*  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
council  of  Massachusetts,  while  on  a  visit  home,  in  1776, 
the  duties  of  which  he  faithfully  fulfilled. 

In  1777  Mr.  Adams  was  appointed  a  special  commis 
sioner  to  the  Court  of  France,  whither  Dr.  Franklin  had 
previously  gone.  Finding  the  subject  of  his  mission  fully 
attended  to  by  Franklin,  Adams  returned  home  in  1779. 
He  was  immediately  called  to  the  duty  of  forming  a  Con 
stitution  for  his  native  State.  While  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duty  in  convention,  Congress  appointed  him  a  minis 
ter  to  Great  Britain,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
commerce  with  that  government.  He  left  Boston  in  the 
French  frigate,  La  Sensible,  in  October,  1777,  and  after  a 
long  passage,  landed  at  Ferrol,  in  Spain,  whence  he  jour 
neyed  by  land  to  Paris.6  He  found  England  a  Feb 
indisposed  for  peace,  if  American  Independence  1/80' 
was  to  be  the  sine  qua  non,  and  was  about  to  return  home, 
when  he  received  from  Congress  the  appointment  of  com 
missioner  to  Holland,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  amity  and 
commerce  with  the  States  General.  The  confidence  of 
Congress  in  him  was  unlimited,  and  he  was  intrusted  at 
one  time,  with  the  execution  of  no  less  than  six  missions, 
each  of  a  different  character.*  In  1781  he  was  associ 
ated  with  Franklin,  Jay,  and  Laurens,  as  a  commissioner 
to  conclude  treaties  of  peace  with  the  European  powers. 

*  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  177G,  and  until  December,  1777  (when  ha 
was  sent  on  a  foreign  mission)  he  was  a  member  of  ninety  different  committee^ 
and  chairman  of  twenty -live  ! 

t  These  commissions  empowered  him,  1st :  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  Grea. 
Britain ;  2d,  to  make  a  treaty  of  commerce  with  Great  Britain ;  3d.  the  same 
with  the  States  General ;  4th,  the  same  with  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  5th,  to  pledge 
the  faith  of  the  United  States  to  the  Armed  Neutrality ;  6th,  to  negotiate  a  loan  of 
ten  rt.illlons  of  dollars. 


32  MASSACHUSETTS 

In  1782  lie  assisted  in  negotiating  a  commercial  treaty 

with   Great  Britain,  and  was  the  first  of  the  American 

Commissioners  who  signed  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace 

b  Sept.  3    witn  tnat  power.6    In  1784,  Mr.  Adams  returned 

1783.  to  parjS)  anc[  jn  January,  1785,  he  was  ap 
pointed  Minister  for  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of 
Great  Britain.  That  post  he  honorably  occupied  until 
1788,  when  he  resigned  the  office  and  returned  home. 

"While  Mr.  Adams  was  absent,  the  Federal  Constitution 
was  adopted,  and  it  received  his  hearty  approval.  He 
was  placed  upon  the  ticket  with  Washington  for  Vice 
President,  at  the  first  election  under  the  new  Constitu 
tion,  and  was  elected  to  that  office.  He  was  re-elected  to 
the  same  office  in  1792,  and  in  1796,  he  was  chosen  to 
succeed  Washington  in  the  Presidential  Chair.  In  1801 
he  retired  from  public  life. 

In  1816  he  was  placed  on  the  democratic  ticket  as 
presidential  elector.  In  1818  he  lost  his  wife,  with  whom 
he  had  lived  fifty-two  years  in  uninterrupted  conjugal  fe 
licity.  In  1824  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  conven 
tion  of  Massachusetts  to  revise  the  Constitution,  and  was 
chosen  president  of  that  body,  which  honor  he  declined 
on  account  of  his  great  age.  In  1825  he  had  the  felicity 
of  seeing  his  son  elevated  to  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States.  In  the  spring  of  1826  his  physical  povver&  rap-  . 
idly  declined,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July  of  that  year,*  he 
expired,  in  the  ninety-second  year  of  his  age.  On  the 
very  same  day,  and  at  nearly  the  same  hour,  his  fellow- 
committee-man  in  drawing  up  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  Thomas  Jefferson,  also  died.  It  was  the  fif 
tieth  anniversary  of  that  glorious  act,  and  the  coincidence 
made  a  deep  impression  upop  the  public  mind. 


*  On  the  morning  of  the  fourth  it  was  evident  he  could  not  last  many 
On  being  asked  for  a  toast  for  the  day,  the  last  words  he  ever  uttered  —  vord* 
of  glorious  import  —  fell  from  his  lips      •  Independence  for  ever  i" 


IT,  HIS  distinguished  patriot  of  the  Revo- 
Solution,  was  bora  in  Boston,  Massachu- 
I setts,  on  the  twenty-second  of  Sep 
tember,  1722.  He  was  of  pilgrim 
ancestors,  and  had  been  taught  the 
principles  of  Freedom,  from  his  in- 
fanry.  His  father  was  a  man  of  con 
siderable  wealth,  and  was  for  a  long  series  of  years  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  under  the  Colo 
nial  Government.  He  resolved  to  give  Samuel  a  liberal 
education.  After  a  preparatory  course  of  study,  he  en- 
tered  him  at  Harvard  Col>:.e,  Cambridge,  wherr,  w 
2*  33 


34  MASSACHUSETTS. 

1740,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  took  his  degree  of 
A.  B.  He  was  uncommonly  sedate,  and  very  assiduous 
in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  while  a  pupil. 

His  Hither  destined  him  for  the  profession  of  the  law, 
but  'Jiis  design  was  relinquished,  and  he  was  placed  as 
an  apprentice  with  Thomas  Gushing,  a  distinguished 
merchant  of  Boston,  and  afterward  an  active  patriot. 
His  mind,  however,  seemed  fixed  on  political  subjects,* 
and  the  mercantile  profession  presented  few  charms  for 
him.  His  father  furnished  him  with  ample  capital  to  com 
mence  business  as  a  merchant,  but  his  distaste  for  the 
profession,  and  the  diversion  of  his  mind  from  its  de 
mands,  by  politics,  soon  caused  him  serious  embarrass 
ments,  and  he  became  almost  i  bankrupt. 

When  Samuel  was  twenty-five  years  old,  his  father 
died,  and  the  cares  of  the  family  and  estate  devolved 
on  him,  as  the  oldest  son.  Yet  his  mind  was  constantly 
active  in  watching  the  movements  of  the  British  govern 
ment,  and  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  his  time  in  talking  and 
writing  in  favor  of  the  resistance  of  the  Colonies  to  the 
oppressions  of  the  crown  and  its  ministers.  He  took  a 
firm  and  decided  stand  against  the  Stamp  Act  and  its 
antecedent  kindred  schemes  to  tax  the  Colonies.  As 
early  as  1763,  he  boldly  expressed  his  sentiments  relative 
to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Colonists  ;  and  in  some 
instructions  which  he  drew  up  for  the  guidance  of  the 
Boston  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  that  year, 
he  denied  the  right  of  Parliament  to  tax  the  Colonies 
without  their  consent  — denied  the  supremacy  of  Parlia 
ment,  and  suggested  a  union  of  all  the  Colonies,  as 
necessary  for  their  protection  against  British  aggressions. 
ft  is  asserted  that  this  was  the  first  public  expression  of 

•*  In  connection  with  genial  companions,  he  wrote  a  series  of  political  essays 
for  a  newspaper  called  the  "  Independent  Advertiser."  They  incurred  the  nick* 
name,  by  way  of  derision,  cf  the  ''Whipping  Club  " 


SAMUEL    ADAMS.  30 

sentiments  in  America,  and  that  they  we.e  the  spark 
that  kindled  the  flame  upon  the  altar  of  Freedom  here. 

In  1765,  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen  a  representative  for 
Boston,  in  the  General  Assembly,  and  became  early  dis 
tinguished  in  that  body,  for  his  intelligence  and  activity. 
He  became  a  leader  of  the  opposition  to  the  royal  gov 
ernor,  and  treated  with  disdain  the  efforts  made  to  silence 
him,*  although  the  offers  proffered  would  have  placed  him 
in  affluent  circumstances.  He  was  chosen  Clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  ;  and  he  originated  the  "  Mas> 
sachusetts  Circular,"  which  proposed  a  Colonial  Congress 
to  be  held  in  New  York,  and  which  was  held  there  in 
1766. 

During  the  excitement  of  the  Boston  Massacre,  he  was 
among  the  most  active;  and  chiefly  through  his  influence, 
and  the  boldness  with  which  he  demanded  the  removal  of 
the  troops  from  Boston,  was  that  object  effected. 

Mr.  Adams,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia, 
ilmost  simultaneously  proposed  the  system  of  Committees 
u>f  Correspondence,"  which  proved  such  a 
mighty  engine  in  bringing  about  a  union  of  sen 
timent  among  the  several  Colonies  previous  to  the  burst 
ing  out  of  the  Revolution.  This,  and  other  bold  move 
ments  on  his  part,  caused  him  to  be  selected  as  an  object 
of  ministerial  vengeance,  and  when  Governor  Gage  issued 
his  proclamation,  offering  pardon  to  all  who  would  return 
to  their  allegiance,  Samuel  Adams  .and  John  Hancock 
were  alone  excepted.  This  greatly  increased  their  popu- 

*  When  the  governor  was  asked  why  Mr.  Adams  had  not  been  silenced  by  of 
fice,  he  replied,  that  "  such  is  the  obstinacy  and  inflexible  disposition  of  the  man, 
that  he  can  never  be  conciliated  by  any  office  or  gift  whatever."  And  when,  in 
1774,  Governor'Gage,  by  authority  of  ministers,  sent  Colonel  Fenton  to  offer  Ad 
anas  a  magnificent  consideration  if  he  would  cease  his  hostility  to  government, 
or  menace  him  with  all  the  evils  of  attainder,  that  inflexible  patriot  gave  this  re 
markable  answer  to  Fenton  :  "  I  trust  I  have  long  since  made  my  peace  with  the 
King  of  kings.  No  personal  consideration  shall  induce  me  to  abandon  the  right 
eous  causo  of  my  country.  Tell  Governor  Gage,  it  is  the  advice  of  Samue1  A4 
ams  to  him,  no  longer  to  insult  the  feelings  af  au  exasperated  people." 


36  MASSACHUSETTS. 

larity,  and  fned  the  people  with  indignation.  Adams  was 
among  those  who  secretly  matured  the  plan  of  proposing 
a  general  Congress,  and  appointing  delegates  thereto,  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  Governor  Gage.*  Mr.  Adams 
was  one  of  the  five  delegates  appointed,  and  he  took  his 
seat  in  that  body  on  the  fifth  of  September,  1774.  He 
continued  an  active  member  of  Congress  until  1781,Aand 
was  among  those  who  joyfully  affixed  their  signatures  to 
the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Mr.  Adams  retired  from  Congress  in  1781,  but  not 
from  public  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Convention 
to  form  a  Constitution  for  Massachusetts,  and  was  on  the 
committee  who  drafted  it.  He  was  successively  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Senate  of  that  Commonwealth,  its  President, 
Lieutenant-governor,  and  finally  Governor.  To  the  latter 
office  he  was  annually  elected,  until  the  imfirmities  of 
age  obliged  him  to  retire  from  active  life.  He  expired 
on  the  third  day  of  October,  1S03,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age. 

*  The  governor  hearing  of  the  movement  in  the  General  Assembly,  then  sit 
ting  at  Salem,  sent  his  Secretary  to  dissolve  them,  but  he  found  the  door  locked, 
and  the  key  was  safely  lodged  in  Samuel  Adams'  pocket. 

t  The  journals  of  Congress  during  that  time  show  his  name  upon  almost  ev 
ery  important  committee  of  that  body.  And  probably  no  man  did  more  toward 
bringing  about  the  American  Revolution,  and  in  ctfecting  the  independence  of  the 
Colonies,  than  Samuel  Adams.  He  was  the  first  to  assert  "boldly  those  political 
truths  upon  which  rested  the  whole  superstructure  of  our  confederacy  —  he  was 
the  first  to  act  in  support  of  those  truths  —  and  when,  in  the  General  Council  'j\ 
States,  independence  wal  proposed,  and  the  timid  faltered,  and  the  over-prudent 
hesitated,  the  voice  of  Samuel  Adams  was  ever  loudest  in  denunciations  of  a  tem 
porizing  policy,  and  also  in  the  utterance  of  strong  encouragement  to  the  faint 
hearted.  "  I  should  advise,"  said  he,  on  one  occasion,  "persisting  in  our  struggl*> 
for  liberty,  though  it  were  revealed  from  Heaven  that  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  were  to  perish,  and  only  one  of  a  thousand  were  to  survive  and  retain  hi« 
liberty !  One  such  freeman  must  possess  more  virtue,  and  enjoy  more  happiness, 
than  a  thousand  slaves  ;  and  let  him  propagate  his  like,  and  transmit  to  them  what 
be  ha  'h  so  nobly  preserved." 


HIS  distinguished  patriot  was  born  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1731.  His 
father  was  a  clergyman,  and  his  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  the  Reverend  Mr, 
Treat,  of  Barnstahle  county.  His  ma 
ternal  grandfather  was  Governor  Treat, 
of  Connecticut,  Thus  connected  with  the  honored  and 
pious,  the  early  moral  education  of  Mr.  Paine  was  salu 
tary  in  the  extreme,  and  he  enjoyed  the  advantage  of 
instruction  in  letters,  from  Mr.  Lovell,  who  was  also  the 

tutor  of  John  Adams  and  John  Hancock 

37 


38  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Young  Paine  entered  Harvard  College  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  years,  and  graduated  with  the  usual  honors.  For 
a  time  after  leaving  college  he  taught  school.  He  then 
made  a  voyage  to  Europe,  and  on  his  return  he  prepared 
himself  for  the  ministry,  in  which  calling  he  was  engaged 
as  chaplain  in  a  military  expedition  to  the  north  in  1755. 
Not  long  afterward  he  relinquished  theology,  studied  law 
with  Mr.  Pratt,  (afterward  Chief  Justice  of  New  York,) 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar. 

He  commenced  law  practice  in  Boston,  but  after  a  short 
residence  there  he  removed  to  Taunton,  where  he  be 
came  a  powerful  opponent  and  rival  of  the  celebrated 
Timothy  Ruggles.*  He  early  espoused  the  popular 
cause,  but  so  prudently  did  he  conduct  himself,  that  he 
retained  the  full  confidence  of  the  Governor.  In  1768, 
after  Governor  Bernard  had  dissolved  the  Assembly,!  and 
a  provincial  Convention  was  called,  Mr.  Paine  attended 
as  a  delegate  from  Taunton.  In  1770,  when  the  trial  of 
Captain  Preston  and  his  men  occurred,  the  District  At 
torney  being  sick,  Mr.  Paine  was  chosen  his  substitute, 
and  he  conducted  the  case  with  great  ability.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Vigilance  in  Taunton,  in 
1773.  The  same,  and  the  following  year  (1774)  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  conduct  the  pro 
ceedings  in  the  case  of  the  impeachment  of  Chief  Justice 
Oliver.! 

Mr.  Paine  was  an  advocate  fora  Continental  Congress. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  AssemUy,  when,  in  spite  of 

*  Timothy  Ruggles  was  President  of  the  Colonial,  or  "  Stamp  Act  Congress," 
in  1765.  He  was  opposed  to  some  of  its  measures,  and  when  the  Revolution 
brake  out,  he  took  sides  with  the  King  and  Parliament. 

t  The  governor  dissolved  the  Assembly,  because  with  closed  doors  they  adopted 
a  circular  to  be  sent  to  all  the  other  colonies,  inviting  them  to  send  delegates  to 
a  General  Colonial  Congress,  to  be  held  in  New  York. 

I  Justice  Oliver  was  impeached  on  the  ground  that  he  received  his  salary  di 
rectly  from  the  crown,  and  not  from  the  people  of  the  province,  and  thus  wai 
mode  independent  of  thf  m. 


ROBERT  TREAT  PAINE.  39 

Governor  Gage,  it  elected  delegates  to  the  General  Con 
n-ess,  of  whom  Mr.  Paine  was  one.     He  was  elected  a 
aemberofthe  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  in 
he  autumn  of  1774,  where  he  was  very  active.     He  was 
ieputed  by  the  General  Congress,  with  two   others,   to 
risit  the  army  of  General  Schuyler  at  the  north  for  the 
mrpose  of  observation.     It  was  a  delicate   commission, 
lut  one  which  Mr.  Paine  and  his  colleagues  performed 
#ith   entire   satisfaction.     The   same  year,  John  Adams 
fpas    appointed   Chief  Justice  of  the  province  of  Massa- 
;husetts,    and  Mr.   Paine  was  chosen  a  side  judge.     He 
declined  the  honor,  and  in  December  was  again  elected 
to  the  General  Congress,  where  he  was  very  active,  and 
on  the  fourth  of  July,  the  following  year,  (1776,)  he  voted 
for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  was  one  of  its 
signers.     In    1777,  he  was   chosen  Attorney-General  of 
Massachusetts,  by  a    unanimous  vote  of  the  council  and 
representatives,  which  office  he  held  until  1790,  when  he 
was  appointed  a  Judge  of   the  Supreme  Court.     He  was 
a  member  of  the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution 
of  his  native   State,   which  was   adopted  in   1780.     Foi 
fourteen  years,  he  discharged  his  duties   as  judge,  and  ii 
1804,  he  left  the  bench,  on   account  of  the   approaching 
infirmities  of  age.     He  died  in  1814,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
four  years.     His  long  and  active  life  was  devoted  to  the 
public  service,  and  his  labors  were  duly  appreciated  by 
a  grateful  people. 


LBUIDGE  GERRY  was  born  in  Mar- 
blehead,  Massachusetts,  on  the  sev- 
enteeth  of  July,  1744.  His  father 
was  a  merchant  in  extensive  busi 
ness,  and  he  resolved  to  give  his  son 
an  excellent  education.  When  his 
preparatory  studies  were  concluded, 
he  entered  Harvard  College,  and  graduated  with  the  title 
of  A.  B.,  in  1762.  He  soon  after  entered  into  commer 
cial  pursuits,  amassed  a  handsome  fortune,  and  by  his  in 
telligence  and  good  character,  won  for  himself  the  osteen? 

40 


ELBRIDGE    GERRY.  41 

wf  his  fellow-citizens.  He  watched  with  much  solicitude 
the  rapid  strides  which  the  oppressions  of  Great  Britain 
were  making  in  this  country,  and  having  expressed  his 
sentiments  fearlessly,  his  townsmen  elected  him  a  mem 
ber  of  the  General  Court  of  the  province,  in  1773.  Theie 
he  soon  became  a  bold  and  energetic  leader,  ingenious  in 
devising  plans  of  operation,  and  judicious  and  zealous  in 
their  execution.  He  was  connected  with  John  Adams 
and  others  in  carrying  through  resolutions  that  had  been 
offered  in  the  General  Court,  having  reference  to  the  re 
moval  of  Governor  Hutchinson  from  office.* 

Mr.  Gerry  was  active  in  all  the  leading  political  move 
ments  in  Massachusetts  until  the  War  broke  out.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  Provincial  Congress  of  that 
province,  and  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  opposers  of 
Governor  Gage.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  The 
night  preceding  that  event,  he  and  General  Warren  slept 
together  in  the  same  bed.  They  bade  each  other  an  af 
fectionate  farewell  in  the  morning,  and  separated,  Mr. 
Gerry  to  go  to  the  Congress,  sitting  at  Watertown,  and 
Dr.  Warren  to  be  slain  upon  the  battle-field. 

In  January,  1776,  Mr.  Gerry  was  elected  a  delegate  tc 
the  Continental  Congress.  There  his  commercial  knowl 
edge  proved  very  useful,  and  he  was  put  upon  many  com 

*  Governor  Hutchinson,  who  had  already  become  very  obnoxious  to  the  people, 
became  insupportable  after  the  discovery  of  some  letters  of  his  to  the  English 
Ministers,  recommending  the  enforcement  of  rigid  measures  against  the  Ameri 
cans,  and  the  curtailment  of  the  privileges  of  the  colonies.  These  letters  were 
put  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Franklin,  then  Colonial  Agent  in  England,  and  by  him 
they  were  immediately  transmitted  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts.  They 
produced  great  exuitement,  and  a  petition  was  adopted  and  forwarded  to  the 
Ministers,  asking  for  the  removal  of  Hutchinson.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  Dr. 
Franklin's  presenting  this  petition  to  the  English  Privy  Council,  thas  he  was  so 
violently  assailed  by  Wedderburn,  the  Solicitor  General.  Franklin  made  no  ra 
ply,  but  on  going  to  his  lodgings,  he  took  off  his  suit  of  clothes,  and  declared  that 
he  would  never  put  it  on  again  until  he  had  signed  "  America's  Independence, 
and  England's  degradation."  When,  nearly  tqn  years  afterward,  he  signed  th*j 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  two  governments,  he  again  put  on  that  suit  of  clothes. 


*2  MASSACHUSETTS. 

mittees  where  such  knowledge  was  needed.  lie  had 
oeen  previously  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Couit  of  Admi 
ralty,  but  preferring  a  more  active  life,  he  declined  the 
appointment.  He  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  resolu- 
ti  m  of  Mr.  Lee,  declaring  the  United  States  free  and  in 
dependent,  and  he  signed  his  name  to  the  Declaration  on 
the  second  of  August,  following  its  adoption. 

In  1777,  Mr.  Gerry  was  appointed  one  of  a  committee 
to  visit  Washington  at  his  headquarters  at  Valley  Forge. 
The  report  of  that  committee  had  a  great  effect  upon 
Congress,  and  caused  more  efficient  measures  to  be  taken 
for  the  relief  and  support  of  the  army.  In  1780  he  re 
tired  from  Congress  to  look  after  his  private  aifairs,  but 
was  re-elected  in  1783.  In  all  the  financial  operations  of 
that  body,  Mr.  Gerry  was  indefatigably  engaged.  In 
1785  he  again  retired  from  Congress,  and  fixed  his  resi 
dence  in  Cambridge. 

Mr.  Gerry  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  Massa 
chusetts  which  adopted  the  present  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  so  opposed  to  many  of  its  lead 
ing  features  that  he  never  subscribed  his  name  to  it,  but 
when  it  became  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land,  he  did 
all  in  his  power  to  carry  out  its  provisions.  He  was  twice 
elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  under  it,  and  after  faithful  services  he  again 
retired  to  private  life. 

Mr.  Adams,  when  President,  knew  and  appreciated  the 
abilities  of  Mr.  Gerry,  and  he  called  him  forth  from  his 
domestic  quiet,  by  nominating  him  one  of  three  envoys  to 
the  Court  of  France."  The  joint  mission  was 
not  received  by  that  government,  but  Mr.  Gerry 
was  accepted,  and  this  made  him  very  unpopular  with  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  of  the  United  States.*  Mr. 

*  The  joint  commission  consisted  of  Elbridge  Gerry,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinch 
ney,  and  John  Marshall,  (the  late  Chief  Justice.)    The  relations  between  the  two 


ELBR1DGE    GERRY.  43 

Grerry  considered  it  his  duty  to  remain,  and  did  so.  Af 
ter  his  return  from  France,  the  Republicans*  of  Massa 
chusetts  nominated  him  for  Governor.  He  failed  the  first 
time,  but  was  elected  the  next.a  In  1811.  he 

a  1810. 

was  nominated  for,  and  elected,  Vice  President 
of  the  United  States. 

While  in  the  peribrmanc?  of  his  duties  at  the  seat  of 
government,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  illness,  and  died 
on  the  twenty -third  of  November,  1814,  at  the  age  of 
seventy  years.  He  was  entombed  in  the  Congressional 
Cemetery,  and  a  handsome  monument  was  erected  to  his 
memory  by  Congress. 

governments  were  not  at  all  friendly  at  thut  time,  and  Messrs.  Pinckney  and 
Marshall  were  ordered  to  leave  the  country.  Mr.  Gerry  was  desired  to  remain. 
The  Federalists  of  the  United  States,  who  were  opposed  to  the  French,  strongly 
condemned  Mr.  Gerry  for  remaining,  while  the  Republicans,  who  sympathized 
with  the  French  Revolutionists,  applauded  him.  At  that  time,  however,  the  Fed 
eralists  were  a  powerful  majority,  and  hence  Mr.  Gerry  disappointed  the  great 
majority  of  his  intelligent  countrymen.  The  feeling  of  hostility  toward  France, 
at  thut  time,  was  very  acrimonious  on  the  part  of  the  Federalists  ;  for  the  med 
dling  impertinence  of  Citizen  Genet,  the  French  Minister,  had  roused  a  feeling  of 
indignation  against  him  and  his  people  that  can  hardly  be  conceived  at  the  pres 
ent  day.  Hoping  to  gain  for  his  country  the  aid  and  friendly  alliance  of  the 
United  States,  he  sought  to  involve  us  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain  ;  and  he  ac- 
tually  issued  Letters  of  Marque  to  vessels  of  war,  to  sail  from  American  ports 
and  cruise  against  the  English  and  other  enemies  of  France.  This  brought  forth 
from  President  Washington  a  proclamation  of  neutrality.  Genet  then  threat 
ened  to  appeal  to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Finally,  Washington  became 
tired  of  his  otficiousness,  and  demanded  and  obtained  his  recall.  But  he  left  be» 
bind  him  a  violence  of  party  spirit  between  the  Federalists  and.  Republicans, 
unknown  until  then. 

*•  At  this  time  party  spirit  continued  to  run  very  high  between  the  Federalist* 
and  Republicans,  the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  Union.  The  more  progres 
sive  policv  of  the  republican  party,  was  so  consonant  with  the  spirit  of  th 
people,  that  it  increased  rapidly  from  its  birth,  and  finally  became  so  powerful, 
Shat  Federalism,  as  a  watchword  of  party,  and  hi  truth  the  Federal  party  iw 
extinct  in  1819. 


TEPHEN  HOPKINS  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Providence,*   Rhode  Island,  on  the 
seventh  of  March,    1707.     His  mother 
was   the   daughter   of   one    of  the    first 
Baptist  ministers   of  Providence.     The 
opportunities  for  acquiring  education   at 
1  the    time    of  Mr.    Hopkins'   childhood., 
were  rare,  but  his  vigorous  intellect,  in  a 
measure,  became  a  substitute  for  these  opportunities,  and 


*  The  town  was  subsequently  divided,  and  the  portion  in  which  Mr.  Hupkina 
was  born  is  now  called  Scituate.  44 


STEi'ii;.N    ;i.;r:uNS.  45 

he  became  self-taught,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word, 
Mr.  Hopkins  was  a  farmer  until  1731,  when  he  removed 
\o  Providence  and  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  In 
1732,  he  was  chosen  a  representative  for  Scituate  in  the 
General  Assembly,  arid  was  re-choseri  annually  until  1738. 
He  was  again  elected  in  1741,  and  was  chosen  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives.  From  that  fime  until 
1751,  h*!  was  almost  every  year  a  member  and  speaker 
of  the  assembly.  That  year  he  was  chosen  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Colony. 

Mr.  Hopkins  was  a  delegate  to  the  Colonial  Conven 
tion  held  in  Albany  in  1754.*  He  was  elected  Governor 
of  the  Colony  in  1756,  and  continued  in  that  office  almost 
the  whole  time,  until  1767.  During  the  French  war, 
Governor  Hopkins  was  very  active  in  promoting  the  en 
listment  of  volunteers  for  the  service,  and  when  Mont- 
calm  seemed  to  be  sweeping  all  before  him  at  the  north,! 
Hopkins  raised  a  volunteer  corps,  and  was  placed  at  its 
head  ;  but  its  services  were  not  needed,  and  it  was  dis 
banded. 

He  early  opposed  the  oppressive  acts  of  Great  Britain, 
and  in  1774,  he  held  three  offices  of  great  responsibility, 
which  were  conferred  upon  him  by  the  patriots — namely  : 
Chief  Justice  of  Rhode  Island,  representative  in  the 
Provincial  Assembly,  and  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress.  At  this  time  he  introduced  a  bill  into  the 
Assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  slaves  ;  and  to  show  that  his  professions,  on  this  point, 

*  This  Convention  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  measures  to  op 
pose  more  effectually  the  encroachments  of  the  French  settlers,  and  to  hold  a 
conference  with  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians.  Dr.  Franklin  was  a  member  of  that 
Convention  and  submitted  a  plan  of  union  for  the  colonies  which  contained  all  the 
essential  features  of  our  present  Constitution. 

t  Montcalm  was  commander  of  the  French  force  that  invaded  the  northern 
portions  of  New  York,  in  1757.  He  was  driven  back  to  Canada,  and  was  at 
tacked  by 'the  English,  under  Wolfe,  toon  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  at  Quebec* 
he  vas  mortally  wounded. 


46  RHODE    ISLAND. 

were  sincere,  he  manumitted  all  pf  those  which  belonged 
to  himself. 

In  ]  775,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  was  again  elected  a  dele 
gate  to  the  General  Congress.  He  was  re-elected  in 
177G,  and  had  the  privilege  of  signing  the  glorious  De 
claration  of  Independence.*  He  was  chosen  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Congress  for  the  last  lime,  in  1778,  and  was 
one  of  the  committee  who  drafted  the  ARTICLES  OF  CON 
FEDERATION  for  the  government  of  the  States.  Notwith 
standing  he  was  then  over  seventy  years,  he  was  exceed 
ingly  active,  and  was  almost  constantly  a  member  of  some 
important  committee.  He  died  on  the  nineteenth  of 
July,  1785,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age.t 

The  life  of  Mr.  Hopkins  exhibits  a  fine  example  of  the 
rewards  of  honest,  persevering  industry.  Although  his 
early  education  was  limited,  yet  he  became  a  distinguished 
mathematician,^  and  filled  almost  every  public  station  in 
the  gift  of  the  people,  with  singular  ability.  He  was  a  sin 
cere  and  consistent  Christian,  and  the  impress  of  his  pro 
fession  was  upon  all  his  deeds. 

*  The  signature  of  Mr.  Hopkins  is  remarkable,  and  appears  as  if  written  by  one 
greatly  agitated  by  fear.  But  fear  was  no  part  of  Mr.  Hopkins'  character.  The 
cause  of  the  tremulous  appearance  of  his  signature,  was  a  bodily  infirmity,  called 
"  shaking  palsy,"  with  which  he  had  been  afflicted  many  years,  and  which  obliged 
him  to  employ  an  amanuensis  to  do  his  writing. 

t  He  was  twice  married ;  the  first  time  to  Sarah  Scott,  a  member  of  the  So 
ciety  of  Friends  (whose  meetings  Mr.  Hopkins  was  a  regular  attendant  upon 
through  life),  in  ]726;  she  died  in  1753.  In  1755  he  married  a  widow,  named 
Anna  Smith. 

J  He  rendered  great  assistance  to  other  scientific  men,  in  observing  the  transit 
of  Venus  which  occurred  in  June,  1769.  He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in 
forming  a  public1,  library  in  Providence,  in  1750.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Amer 
ican  Philosophical  Society,  and  was  the  projector  and  patron  of  the  Free  Schocli 
in  Providence. 


ILLIAM  ELLERY,  the  colleague  of  Ste 
phen  Hopkins,  of  Rhode  Island,  in  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1776,  was  bom 
=  at  Newport,  on  the  twenty-sec  ind  of 
December,  1727.  Hi- father  paid  par- 
iticular  attention  to  his  early  education, 
land  when  qualified,  he  placed  hifti  in 
Harvard  College,  where  he  was  distinguished  as  a  close 
student,  particularly  of  the  C4reek  and  Latin  lanjpapres. 

47 


48  RHODE     ISLAND. 

He  graduated  in  1747,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  with 
the  most  honorable  commendations  of  the  faculty.  He 
chose  the  profession  of  the  law  as  a  business,  and  when 
he  had  completed  his  studies,  he  commenced  practice  in 
Newport,  then  one  of  the  most  nourishing  places  in  the 
British  American  Colonies. 

For  twenty  years,  Mr.  Ellery  practised  law  success 
fully,  and  acquired  a  fortune.  When  the  troubles  of  the 
Revolution  began,  and,  as  an  active  patriot,*  he  enjoyed 
the  entire  confidence  of  his  fellow- citizens — he  was  called 
into  public  service.  Rhode  Island,  although  not  so  much 
oppressed  as  Massachusetts  and  New  York  at  the  begin 
ning,  was  all  alive  with  sympathy ;  and  the  burning  of 
the  Gaspee,t  in  Providence  Bay,  in  1772,  and  the  formal 
withdrawal  of  the  allegiance  of  the  Province  from  the 
British  crown,  by  an  act  of  her  legislature,  as  early  as 
May,  1776,  are  an  evidence  of  the  deep,  patriotic  feeling 
with  which  her  people  were  imbued.  She  promptly  re 
sponded  to  the  call  for  a  general  Congress,  and  Stephen 
Hopkins  and  William  Ellery  were  sent  as  delegates. 

Mr.  Ellery  was  a  very  active  member  of  Congress, 
and  on  the  second  day  of  August,  1776,  he  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

,  In  1778,  Mr.  Ellery  left  Congress  for  a  few  weeks,  and 
repaired  to  Rhode  Island,  to  assist  in  a  plan  to  drive  the 
British  from  the  island.!  It  proved  abortive,  and  many 

*  The  active  patriotism  of  Mr.  Ellery  excited  the  ire  of  the  British,  and  when 
Newport  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  enemy  they  burnt  Mr.  Ellery's  house, 
and  nearly  all  of  his  property  was  destroyed. 

t  The  Gaspee,  a  British  armed  vessel,  was,  iu  1772,  placed  in  Providence  har 
bor  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  revenue  laws.  The  commander,  like 
another  Gesler,  demanded  the  obeisance  of  every  merchant  vessel  that  entered, 
by  lowering  their  flags.  One  vessel  refused,  and  the  G(v«pee  gave  chase.  The 
merchantman  so  manoeuvred  as  to  cause  the  Gaspee  to  run  aground,  and  before 
ehe  could  be  got  off",  she  was  boarded  at  night  by  the  crews  of  several  boats  from 
Providence,  and  all  on  board  were  made  prisoners  and  sent  ashoro ;  after 
which  the  vessel  was  set  on  fire,  and  burned  to  the  water's  edge. 

J  Rboie  Island  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  British  in  177u  on  the  very  day 


WILLIAM  ELLERY.  49 

of  the  inhabitants  were  reduced  to  great  distress.  Mr. 
Ellery  exerted  his  influence  in  Congress,  successfully, for 
their  relief.  About  the  same  time  he  was  one  of  a  com 
mittee  to  arrange  some  difficulties  in  which  Silas  Deane, 
and  other  commissioners  sent  to  Europe,  were  involved.* 
He  was  also  a  member  of  another  committee  to  arrange 
fiome  difficult  matters  connected  with  the  admiralty  courts, 
in  each  capacity,  his  wisdom  and  sound  discretion  made 
him  successful. 

In  1782,  Mr.  Ellery  was  designated  by  Congress  to 
communicate  to  Major  General  Greene,  their  estimate  of 
his  valuable  services  in  the  Southern  Campaigns.  In 
1784,  he  was  one  of  a  committee  to  whom  the  definitive 
Treaty  of  Peace  with  Great  Britain  was  referred.  At 
this  time,  he  was  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Rhode  Island.  In  connection  with  Rufus  King,  of  New 
York,  he  made  strong  efforts  in  1785,  to  have  slavery  in 
the  United  States  abolished.  After  the  new  constitution 
was  adopted  in  1788,  and  the  new  government  was  put 
in  operation,  he  was  appointed  collector  for  the  port  of 
Newport,  which  office  he  retained  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  fifteenth  of  February,  1820,  in  the 
seventy-third  year  of  his  age.t  As  a  patriot  and  a  Chris 
tian,  his  name  will  ever  be  revered. 

that  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware.  The  British  troops  were  commanded 
by  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  the  squadron  by  Sir  Peter  Parker.  Rhode  Island 
remained  in  possession  of  the  enemy  three  years. 

*  Thomas  Paine  and  others  charged  Mr.  Deane  with  the  crime  of  prostituting 
his  official  station  to  selfish  purposes.  The  investigation  proved  the  falsity  of  tb« 
charge,  yet  it  was  apparent  that  Mr.  Deane,  in  his  zeal,  had  been  very  injudi 
cious,  and  therefore  he  was  not  again  sent  abroad. 

t  He  was  always  fond  of  reading  the  classics  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages. 
He  perused  Tully's  Offices  on  the  morning  of  his  death,  while  sitting  in  a  chair. 
He  soon  afterward  commenced  reading  Cicero,  when  his  attendants  discovered 
that  he  was  dead,  but  still  holding  the  book  in  his  hand. 


NE  of  the  most  remarkable  men  ol 
the  Revolution,  was  Roger  Sher 
man.  He  was  born  in  Newton, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  1721.  In  1723,  the  family 
moved  to  Stonington,  in  that  State, 
where  they  lived  until  the  death  of 
Roger's  fattier,  in  1741.  Roger  was  then  only  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  the  whole  care  and  support  of  a  large 
family  devolved  on  1  im.  He  had  been  apprenticed  to  a 


ROGER   SHERMAN.  51 

shoemaker,  but  he  now  took  charge  of  the  small  farm  his 
father  left.  In  1744,  they  sold  the  farm,  and  moved  to 
New  Milford,  in  Connecticut,  where  an  elder  brother, 
who  was  married,  resided.  Roger  performed  the  jour 
ney  on  foot,  carrying  his  shoemaker's  tools  with  him,  and 
for  some  time  he  worked  industriously  at  his  trade  there. 

Mr.  Sherman's  early  education  was  exceedingly  limited, 
but  with  a  naturally  strong  and  active  mind,  he  acquired 
a  large  stock  of  knowledge  from  books,  during  his  ap 
prenticeship.*  Not  long  after  he  settled  in  New  Milford, 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  in  a  mercantile 
business,  but  all  the  while  was  very  studious.  He  turned 
his  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  during  his  leisure  hours  ; 
and  so  proficient  did  he  become  in  legal  knowledge,  that 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  in  December,  1754.t 

In  1755,  Mr.  Sherman  was  elected  a  representative  oi 
New  Milford,  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut, 
and  the  same  year  he  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  After  practising  law  about  five  years,  he  was 
appointed  Judge  of  the  County  Court  for  Litchfield 
county .a  He  moved  to  New  Haven  in  1761, 

,  .  „  '« May,  1759. 

when  the  same  appointments  were  conferred 
upon  him,  and  in  addition,  he  was  chosen  treasurer  of 
Yale  College,  from  which  institution,  in  1765,  he  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M.  In  1766,  he  was  elected 
to  the  senate,  or  upper  house  of  the  legislature  of  Con 
necticut  ;  and  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  passage  of  the 
Stamp  Act  was  bringing  the  politicians  of  America  to  a 
decided  stand  in  relation  to  the  repeated  aggressions  of 

*  It  is  said  that  while  at  work  on  his  bench,  he  had  a  book  so  placed  that  he 
could  read  when  it  was  not  necessary  for  his  eyes  to  be  upon  his  work.  He  thus 
acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  mathematics,  and  he  made  astronomical  calcula 
tions  for  an  almanac  that  was  published  in  New  York,  when  he  was  only  twenty 
•even  years  old. 

t  Mr.  Sherman  had  no  instructor  or  guide  in  the  study  of  the  law,  neither  had 
he  any  books  but  such  as  he  borrowed,  yet  he  became  one  of  the  most  profound 
Jurists  of  his  day. 


62  CONNECTICUT. 

Great  Britain.  Roger  Sherman  fearlessly  took  part  with 
the  patriots,  and  was  a  leader  among  them  in  Connecti 
cut,  until  the  war  broke  out.  He  was  elected  a  delegate 
from  Connecticut  to  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1774, 
and  was  present  at  the  opening  on  the  fifth  of  Septem 
ber.  He  was  one  of  the  most  active  members  of  that 
body,  and  was  appointed  one  of  the  Committee  to  pre 
pare  a  draft  of  a  Declaration  of  Independence ;  a  docu 
ment  to  which  he  affixed  his  signature  with  hearty  good 
will,  after  it  was  adopted  by  Congress. 

Although  his  duties  in  Congress,  during  the  war,  were 
almost  incessant,  yet  he  was  at  the  same  time  a  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Connecticut.  In  1783,  he  was 
appointed,  with  Judge  Law,  of  New  London,  to  revise  the 
statutes  of  the  State,  in  which  service  he  showed  great  abil 
ity.  He  was  a  delegate  from  Connecticut  in  the  Conven 
tion  in  1787  that  framed  the  present  Constitution  of  the 
United  States ;  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Con 
vention  of  Connecticut  which  assembled  to  act  upon  the 
ratification  of  that  instrument.  For  two  years  after  the 
organization  of  the  government  under  the  Constitution,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  United  States  House  of  Representa 
tives.  He  was  then  promoted  to  the  Senate,  which  oifice 
he  filled  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  took  place  on  the 
twenty-third  of  July,  1793,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of 
his  age.  He  had  previously  been  elected  mayor  of  New 
Haven,  when  it  was  invested  with  city  powers  and  privi 
leges,  and  that  office  he  held  until  the  time  of  his  death.* 

*  He  was  twice  married,  the  first  time  to  Elizabeth  Hartwell,  of  Stoughton,  and 
the  second  time  to  Rebecca  Prescott,  of  Danvers.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  Severn 
children,  and  eighf  Toy  his  last. 


HE  family  of  SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON 
|was  among  the  earlier  settlers  of  Con- 
inecticut,  who  located  at  Say  brook. 
He  was  born  at  Windham,  Connecti 
cut,  on  the  second  of  July,  1732.  His 
father  was  an  industrious  farmer,  and 
the  only  education  he  was  able  to  al 
low  his  son,  was  that  to  be  derived  from  the  common 
schools  in  his  neighborhood.  Samuel  was  very  studious, 
and  the  active  energies  of  his  mind  surmounted  many  ob 
stacles  that  stood  in  the  way  of  intellectual  advancement 

53 


54  CONNECTICUT. 

He  acquired  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  the  Latin  Ian- 
guage,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law.  Like  Sherman  he  was  obliged  to  pur 
sue  it  with  borrowed  books  and  without  an  instructor. 
He  succeeded,  however,  in  mastering  its  difficulties,  and 
in  obtaining  a  good  practice  in  his  native  town,  before  he 
was  thirty  years  of  age.  At  the  age  of  twenty* 
eight0  he  removed  to  Norwich,  where  he  had 
greater  scope  for  his  talents. 

Mr.  Huntington  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  Connecticut  in  1764,  and  the  next  year  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  Council.  In  the  various  duties  of  official 
station  he  always  maintained  the  entire  confidence  and 
esteem  of  his  constituents. 

He  was  appointed  Associate  Judge  of  the  Superior 
Court  in  1774;  and  in  1775  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
delegates  from  Conrecticut,  in  the  General  Congress. 
The  following  year  he  had  the  glorious  privilege  of  voting 
for,  and  signing,  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Congress  nearly  five  consecutive 
years,  ai;d  was  esteemed  as  one  of  the  most  active  men 
there.  His  integrity  and  patriotism  were  stern  and  un 
bending  ;  and  so  conspicuous  became  his  sound  judg 
ment  and  untiring  industry,  that  in  1779  he  was  appointed 
President  of  Congress,  then  the  highest  office  in  the  na 
tion.*  At  length  his  impaired  health  demanded  his  re 
signation  of  t\ie  office,6  yet  it  was  with  great  re 
luctance  that  Congress  consented  to  dispense 
with  his  services. 

On  his  return  to  Connecticut  he  resumed  the  duties  of 
the  offices  he  held  in  the  Council  and  on  the  Bench,  both 
of  which  had  been  continued  while  he  was  in  Congress. 
He  again  took  his  s^*at  in  Congress  in  1783,  but  left  it 

*  He  was  appointed  to  sucveet  rohn  Jay,  who  was  sent  as  Minister  Plenipota> 
tiary  to  Spain,  to  nego^ttr  a  treat}  of  amity  and  commerce  with  that  nation. 


SAMUEL    HUNTINGTON.  55 

again  in  November  of  that  year,  and  retired  to  his  family. 
Soon  after  his  return,  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  his  Stated  In  1785  he  was 

f  T  .  a  1784. 

elected  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  was  promoted 
to  the  Chief  Magistracy  in  1786,  which  office  he  held  un 
til  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Norwich,  on  the  fifth  day 
of  January,  1796,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Governor  Huntington  lived  the  life  of  the  irreproacha 
ble  and  sincere  Christian,  and  those  who  knew  him  most 
intimately,  loved  him  the  most  affectionately  He  was  a 
thoughtful  man,  and  talked  but  little  —  the  expression  of 
his  mind  and  heart  was  put  forth  in  his  actions.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  natural  timidity,  or  modesty,  which 
some  mistook  for  the  reserve  of  haughtiness,  yet  with  those 
with  whom  he  was  familiar,  he  was  free  and  winning 
in  his  manners.  Investigation  was  a  prominent  charac 
teristic  of  his  mind,  and  when  this  faculty  led  him  to  a 
conclusion,  it  was  difficult  to  turn  him  from  the  path  of 
his  determination.  Hence  as  a  devoted  Christian  and  a 
true  patriot,  he  never  swerved  from  duty,  or  looked  back 
after  he  had  placed  his  hand  to  the  work.  The  cultiva 
tion  of  this  faculty  of  decision  we  would  earnestly  recom 
mend  to  youth,  for  it  is  the  strong  arm  that  will  lead  them 
safely  through  many  difficulties,  and  win  for  them  that 
sentiment  of  reliance  in  the  minds  of  others,  which  is  so 
essential  in  securing  their  esteem  and  confidence.  It  was 
this  most  important  faculty  which  constituted  the  chief 
aid  to  Samuel  Huntington  in  his  progress  from  the  hum 
ble  calling  of  a  ploughboy,  to  the  acme  of  official  station, 
where  true  greatness  was  essential  and  to  which  none 
bat  the  truly  good  could  aspire. 


ALES  was  the  place  of  nativity  of  the 
ancestors  of  WILLIAM  WILLIAMS.  They 
emigrated  to  America  in  1630,  and  set 
tled  at  Roxbury,  in  Massachusetts.  His 
grandfather  and  father  were  both  min 
isters  of  the  gospel,  and  the  latter  was 
for  more  than  half  a  century  pastor  of 
a  Congregational  Society,  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  where 
the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch  was  born  on  the  eighteenth 


WILLIAM    WILLIAMS.  5? 

of  April,  1731.  He  entered  Harvard  College  at  the  ago 
of  sixteen  years,  and  at  twenty  he  graduated 
with  honorable  distinction."  He  then  com 
menced  thsological  studies  with  his  father;  but  the  agita 
tions  of  the  French  War  attracted  his  attention,  and  in 
1754  he  accompanied  his  relative,  Colonel  Ephraim  Wil 
liams,  in  an  expedition  to  Lake  George,  during  which  the 
Colonel  was  killed.  He  returned  home  with  settled  feel 
ings  of  dislike  toward  the  British  officers  in  general,  who 
haughtily  regarded  the  colonists  as  inferior  men,  and  de 
serving  of  but  little  of  their  sympathy. 

He  abandoned  the  study  of  theology,  and  entered  into 
mercantile  pursuits  in  Lebanon.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  he  was  chosen  town  clerk,  which  office  he  held  nearly 
half  a  century.  He  was  soon  afterward  chosen  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Connecticut  Assembly,  and  forty-five  years  he 
held  a  seat  there.  He  was  always  present  at  its  sessions, 
except  when  attending  to  his  duties  in  the  General  Con 
gress,  to  which  body  he  was  elected  a  delegate  in  1775. 
He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  proposition  for  Inde 
pendence,  and  cheerfully  signed  the  glorious  Declaration 
when  it  was  adopted. 

When,  in  1781,  Arnold,  the  traitor,  made  an  attack 
upon  New  London,*  Williams,  who  held  the  office  of  colo 
nel  of  militia,  hearing  of  the  event,  mounted  his  horse 
and  rode  twenty-three  miles  in  three  hours,  but  arrived 
only  in  time  to  see  the  town  wrapped  in  flames. 

Mr.  Williams  was  a  member  of  the  State  Convention 
of  Connecticut,  that  decided  upon  the  adoption  of  the 

*  Norwich,  fourteen  miles  from  New  London,  was  the  native  place  of  Arnold. 
On  the  expedition  alluded  to>  he  first  attacked  Fort  Trumbull,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Thames,  on  which  New  London  stands.  The  garrison  evacuated  the  Fort  at  his 
approach,  and,  in  imitation  of  the  infamous  Governor  Tryon,  of  New  York,  he 
proceeded  to  lay  the  town  in  ashes.  Arnold's  men  were  chiefly  tories.  On  the 
eame  day,  Fort  Grisw  jH,  opposite,  was  attacked,  and  after  its  surrender,  ell  **>' 
about  forty  of  the  gsrrison  were  butchered  in  cold  blocd. 

3* 


58  CONNECTICUT. 

present  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  voted  in 
favor  of  it.  His  constituents  were  opposed  to  the  meas 
ure,  but  it  was  not  long  before  they  discovered  their  er 
ror,  and  applauded  his  firmness. 

In  1804,  Colonel  Williams  declined  a  re-election  to  the 
Connecticut  Assembly,  and  withdrew  entirely  from  pub 
lic  life.  His  life  and  fortune*  were  both  devoted  to  his 
country  j  and  he  went  i  to  domestic  retirement  with  the 
love  and  veneration  of  Ms  countrymen  attending  him. 
He  was  married  in  1772,  to  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Gov 
ernor  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  and  the  excellences  of 
his  character  greatly  endeared  him  to  his  family.  In  1810 
he  lost  his  eldest  son.  This  event  powerfully  shocked  his 
already  infirm  constitution,  and  he  never  recovered  from 
it.  His  health  gradually  declined  ;  and  a  short  time  be 
fore  his  death  he  was  overcome  with  stupor.  Having 
laid  perfectly  silent  for  four  days,  he  suddenly  called, 
with  a  clear  voice,  upon  his  departed  son  to  attend  his 
dying  father  to  the  world  of  spirits,  and  then  expired. 
He  died  on  the  second  day  of  August,  1811,  at  the  pa 
triarchal  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

*  Many  instances  are  related  of  the  personal  sacrifices  of  Mr.  Williams  for  his 
country's  good.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  he  devoted  himself  to  his 
country's  service,  and  for  that  purpose  hf  closed  his  mercantile  business,  so  as 
not  to  have  any  embarrassments.  In  1779,  when  the  people  had  lost  all  confidence 
in  the  final  redemption  of  the  continental  paper  money,  and  it  could  not  procure 
supplies  for  the  army,  Mr.  Williams  generously  exchanged  two  thousand  dollars 
in  specie  for  it,  and  of  course  lost  nearly  the  whole  amount.  The  Count  De 
Rochambeau,  with  a  French  army,  arrived  at  Newport  during  the  summer  of 
1780,  as  allies  to  the  Americans,  but  they  did  not  enter  into  the  service  until  the 
next  year,  and  remained  encamped  in  New  England.  Louzor.  one  of  Rocham- 
beau's  cavalry  officers,  encamped  during  the  winter  with  his  legion  at  Lebanon, 
and  Mr.  Wiiliams,  in  order  to  allow  the  officers  comfortable  quarters,  relinquished 
his  own  house  to  them,  and  moved  his  family  to  another.  Such  was  the  self 
denial  of  the  Fathers  of  our  Reoublic,  and  such  the  noble  examples  they  nresent 


HE  name  of  Wolcott,  appeared  among 
the  early  settlers  of  Connecticut,  and 
from  that  day  to  this,  it  has  been  dis- 

•  tinguished  for  living  scions,  honored  for 
their  talents  in  legislation  or  literature.* 
The  subject   of  this  brief  sketch    was 
bom  in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  No- 

*  The  English  ancestor,  Henry  Wolcott,  first  settled  in  Dorchester,  Massachu-' 
setts,  after  his  arrival  in  1630.  In  1636,  he,  with  a  few  associates,  moved  to 
Windsor,  in  Connecticut,  and  formed  a  settlement  there.  He  was  among  the  first 
who  organized  the  government  of  Connecticut,  and  obtain^  »  -barter  from  King 
Charles  II. 

59 


60  CONNECTICUT. 

vember,  1726.*  He  entered  Yale  College  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  years,  and  graduated  with  the  usual  honors 
in  1747.  He  received  a  Captain's  commission  in  the-. 
Army  the  same  year,  and  raising  a  company  immediately, 
he  marched  to  the  northern  frontier  to  confront  the 
French  and  Indians.  The  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,t 
terminated  hostilities,  and  he  returned  home.  He  arose 
regularly  from  Captain  to  Major-General. 

Young  Wolcott  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  study 
of  medicine,  under  his  distinguished  uncle,  Dr.  Alexander 
Wolcott ;  but  when  he  had  just  completed  his  studies,  he 
was  appointed  sheriff  of  the  newly-organized  county  of 
Litchfield. 

In  1774,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  council  of 
his  native  State  ;  and  he  was  annually  re-elected  until 
1786,  notwithstanding  he  was,  duiing  that  time,  a  dele 
gate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  Chief  Justice  of  Litch 
field  county,  and  also  a  Judge  of  Probate  of  that  dis 
trict. 

Mr.  Wolcott  was  appointed  by  the  first  General  Con 
gress,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  Indian  Affairs  for 
the  northern  department;  and  he  performed  excellent 
service  to  the  American  cause  by  his  influence  in  bringing 
about  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  controversy  between 
Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania,  concerning  the  Wyoming 
settlement :  a  controversy  at  one  time  threatening  serious 
effects  upon  the  confederacy. 

Toward  the  close  of  1775,  Mr.  Wolcott  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  second  General  Congress,  and  took  his 
seat  in  January,  1776.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
debates  respecting  the  independence  of  the  Colonies,  and 
voted  for,  and  signed  that  glorious  Declaration  of  Ameri- 

*  His  father  was  a  distinguished  man,  having  been  Major  General,  Judge,  Lieu 
tenant  Governor,  and  finally  Governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

t  This  was  a  treaty  of  Peace  between  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Holland, 
Hungary,  and  Gmoa.  It  was  concluded  in  1748- 


OLIVER  WOLCOTT.  61 

can  disenthralment.  Soon  after  this  act  was  consum 
mated,  he  returned  home,  and  was  immediately  appointed 
by  Governor  Trumbull  and  the  Council  of  Safety,  to  the 
command  of  a  detachment  of  Connecticut  militia  (con 
sisting  of  fourteen  regiments)  destined  for  the  defence  of 
New  York.  After  the  battle  oi  Long  Island,  he  returned 
to  Connecticut,  and  in  November  of  that  year,  he  re 
sumed  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  was  in  that  body  when 
they  fled  to  Baltimore  at  the  approach  of  the  British  to 
ward  Philadelphia,  at  the  close  of  1776. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  I>7%6,  he  was  ac 
tively  engaged  in  the  recruiting  service,  and  after  sending 
General  Putnam  (then  on  the  Hudson  river),  several  thous 
ands  of  volunteers,  he  took  command  of  a  body  of  recruits, 
and  joined  General  Gates  at  Saratoga.  He  aided  in  the 
capture  of  Burgoyne  and  his  army  in  October,  1777,  and 
soon  afterward,  he  again  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  then 
assembled  at  York,  in  Pennsylvania,*  where  he  continued 
until  July,  1778.  In  the  summer  of  1779,  he  took  com 
mand  of  a  division  of  Connecticut  militia,  and  undertook, 
with  success,  the  defence  of  the  southwestern  sea  coast 
of  that  State,  then  invaded  by  a  British  army.t  From 
that  time,  until  1783,  he  was  alternately  engaged  in  civil 
and  military  duties  in  his  native  State,  and  occasionally 
held  a  seat  in  Congress.  In  1784  and  1785,  he  was  an 

*  During  the  Revolution,  Congress  held  its  sessions  in  Philadelphia,  but  was 
obliged  on  several  occasions  to  retreat  to  a  more  secure  position.  At  the  close 
of  1776  it  adjourned  to  Baltimore,  when  it  was  expected  Cornwallis  would  attack 
Philadelphia,  after  his  successful  pursuit  of  Washington  across  New  Jersey. 
Again,  when  Howe  marched  upon  Philadelphia,  in  September,  1777,  Congress  ad 
journed  to  Lancaster,  and  three  days  afterward  to  York,  where  its  sessions  were 
held  during  the  winter  the  American  army  were  encamped  at  Valley  Forge. 

t  The  British  force  was  led  by  Governor  Tryon,  of  New  York.  It  was  a  plun 
dering  and  desolating  expedition.  Fairtield  and  Norwalk  were  laid  in  ashes,  and 
the  most  cruel  atrocities  were  inflicted  upon  the  inhabitants,  without  regard  to  sex 
or  condition.  Houses  were  rifled,  the  persons  of  the  females  abused,  and  many 
of  them  fled  half  naked  te  the  woods  and  swamps  in  the  vicinity  of  their  dpao 
lated  homes. 


6*  CONNECTICUT. 

active  Indian  Agent,  and  was  one  of  the  Commissioners 
who  prescribed  terms  of  peace  to  the  Six  Nations  of  In 
dians  who  inhabited  Western  New  York.* 

In  1786,  General  Wolcott  was  elected  Lieutenant 
Governor  of  Connecticut,  and  was  re-elected  every  year, 
until  1796,  when  he  was  chosen  Governor  of  the  State. 
lie  was  re-elected  to  that  office  in  1797,  and  held  the 
station  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  event  occurred  on 
the  first  day  of  December,  of  that  year,  in  the  seventy- 
second  year  of  his  age.  As  a  patriot  and  statesman,  a 
Christian  and  a  man,  Governor  Wolcott  presented  a  bright 
example  ;  for  inflexibility,  virtue,  piety  and  integrity,  were 
his  prominent  characteristics. 

*  The  five  Indian  Tribes,  the  Mohawks,  the  Oneidas,  the  Onondvgas.  the  CVzyw- 
ffas,  and  the  Seuecas,  had  formed  a  confederation  long  before  they  were  discov 
ered  by  the  whites.  It  is  not  known  when  this  confederation  was  first  formed, 
but  when  the  New  England  settlers  penetrated  westward,  they  found  this  pow 
erful  confederacy  strongly  united,  and  at  war  with  nearly  all  of  the  surrounding 
tribes.  The  Onondagas  seemed  to  be  the  chief  nation  of  the  confederacy,  for 
with  them  the  great  council  lire  was  specially  deposited,  and  it  was  kept  always 
burning.  Their  undisputed  domain  included  nearly  the  whole  of  the  present  area 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  They  subdued  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins  in  1657  ; 
and  in  1665  they  almost  annihilated  the  Erics.  In  1672  they  destroyed  the  An- 
dastcs,  and  in  1701  they  penetrated  as  far  South  as  the  Cape  Fear  River,  spread- 
Ing  terror  and  desolation  in  their  path.  They  warred  with  the  Cherokces,  and  al 
most  exterminated  the  Catawbas ;  and  when,  in  1744,  they  ceded  some  of  their 
lands  to  Virginia,  they  reserved  the  privilege  of  a  war-path  through  the  ceded  do 
main.  In  1714  they  were  joined  by  the  Tuscaroras  of  North  Carolina,  and  since 
that  time  the  confederacy  has  been  known  as  the  Six  Nations.  They  uniformly 
took  sides  with  the  British,  and  entered  into  a  compact  with  them  against  the 
French,  in  1754.  In  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  "  The  whole  confederacy,"  saya 
De  Witt  Clinton,  "  except  a  little  more  than  half  the  Oneidas,  took  up  arms  against 
us.  They  hung  like  the  scythe  of  Death  upon  the  rear  of  our  settlements,  and 
their  deeds  are  inscribed,  with  the  scalping  knife,  and  the  tomahawk,  in  charac 
ters  of  blood,  on  the  fields  of  Wyoming,  and  Cherry  Valley,  and  en  tho  banki  o( 
UiD  Mohawk." 


ALES,  in  Great  Britain,  was  the  father 
land  of  WILLIAM  FLOYD.  His  grand 
father  came  hither  from  that  country 
in  the  year  1680,  and  settled  at  Se- 
tauket,  on  Long  Island.  He  was  dis 
tinguished  for  his  wealth,  and  possessed  great  influence 
among  his  brother  agriculturists. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  on  the  seventeenth 
day  of  December,   1714.     His  wealthy   father  gave  him 
J 


64  '  NEW  YORK. 

every  opportunity  for  Acquiring  useful  knowledge.  He 
had  scarcely  closed  nis  studies,  before  the  death  of  his 
father  called  him  tc  the  supervision  of  the  estate,  and  he 
performed  his  duties  with  admirable  skill  and  fidelity. 
His  various  excellences  of  character,  united  with  a  pleas 
ing  address,  made  him  very  popular ;  and  having  es 
poused  the  republican  cans®  in  opposition  to  the  oppres 
sions  of  the  mother  country,  he  was^oon  called  into  active 
public  life. 

Mr.  Floyd  was  elected  a  delegate  from  New  York  to 
the  first  Continental  Congress,  in  1774,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  active  members  of  that  body.  He  had  previ 
ously  been  appointed  commander  of  the  militia  of  Suffolk 
County  ;  and  early  in  1775,  after  his  return  from  Con 
gress,  learning  that  a  naval  force  threatened  an  invasion 
of  the  Island,  and  that  troops  were  actually  debarking, 
he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  division,  marched  to 
ward  the  point  of  intended  debarkation,  and  awed  the  in 
vaders  into  a  retreat  to  their  ships.  He  was  again  re 
turned  to  the  General  Congress,  in  1775,  and  the  numer 
ous  committees  of  which  he  was  a  member,  attest  his 
great  activity.  He  ably  supported  the  resolutions  of  Mr. 
Lee,  and  cheerfully  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence. 

While  attending  faithfully  to  his  public  duties  in  Con 
gress,  he  suffered  greatly  in  the  destruction  of  his  prop 
erty  and  the  exile  of  his  family  from  their  home.  After 
the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  August,  1776,  and  the  re 
treat  of  the  American  army  across  to  York  Island,  his  fine 
estate  was  exposed  to  the  rude  uses  of  the  British  sol 
diery,  and  his  family  were  obliged  to  seek  shelter  and  pro 
tection  in  Connecticut.  His  mansion  was  the  rendez 
vous  for  a  party  of  cavalry,  his  cattle  and  sheep  were  used 
as  provision  for  the  British  army,  and  for  seven  years  he 
derived  not  a  dollar  of  income  from  his  property.  Yet  he 


WILLIAM    FLOYD.  65 

abated  not  a  jot  in  his  zeal  for  the  cause,  and  labored  on 
hopefully,  alternately  in  Congress  and  in  the  Legislature 
of  New  York.*  Through  his  skilful  management,  in  con 
nection  with  one  or  two  others,  the  State  of  New  York 
was  placed,  in  1779,  in  a  very  prosperous  financial  con 
dition,  at  a  tirne  when  it  seemed  to  be  on  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy.  The  depreciation  of  the  continental  papei 
moneyt  had  produced  alarm  and  distress  wide-spread, 
and  the  speculations  in  bread-stuffs  threatened  a  famine  ; 
yet  William  Floyd  and  his  associates  ably  steered  the  bark 
of  state  .clear  of  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis. 

On  account  of  impaired  health,  General  Floyd  asked 
for  and  obtained  leave  of  absence  from  Congress, in  April, 
1779,  and  in  May  he  returned  to  New  York.  He  was 
at  once  called  to  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  and  placed  upon 
the  most  important  of  those  committees  of  that  body,  who 
were  charged  with  the  delicate  relations  with  the  General 
Congress. 

In  1780  he  was  again  elected  to  Congress,  and  he  con 
tinued  a  member  of  that  body  until  1783,  v/hen  peace  was 
declared.  He  then  returned  joyfully,  with  his  family,  to 
the  home  from  which  they  had  been  exiled  for  seven 
years,  and  now  miserably  dilapidated.  He  declined  a 
re-election  to  Congress,  but  served  in  the  Legislature  of 
his  State  until  1778,  when,  after  the  newly  adopted  Con- 

*  After  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted,  the  States  organized  gov 
ernments  of  their  own.  General  Floyd  was  elected  a  Senator  in  the  first  legisla 
tive  body  that  convened  in  New  York,  after  the  organization  of  the  new  govern 
ment,  and  was  a  most  useful  member  in  getting  the  new  machinery  into  suc 
cessful  operation. 

t  The  amount  of  paper  money  issued  by  Congress  before  the  close  of  1779, 
amounted  to  about  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  The  consequence  of  such 
an  issue  was  a  well  grounded  suspicion  that  the  bills  would  not  ultimately  be  re 
deemed;  and  this  suspicion,  at  the  close  of  1779,  became  so  much  of  a  certainty, 
that  the  notes  depreciated  to  about  one  fourth  of  their  value.  An  attempt  was 
made  by  Congress  tc  make  these  bills  a  legal  tender  at  their  nominal  value,  but 
the  m^usure  was  soon  perceived  to  be  mischievous,  and  they  were  left  to  their 
tate. 


66  NEW  YORK. 

Btitution  wa^  ratified,  he  was  elected  araembei  of  the  first 
Congress  that  convened  under  that  charter  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  in  1789.  He  declined  an  election  the  second 
time,  and  retired  from  public  life. 

In  1784  General  Floyd  purchased  some  wild  land  upon 
the  Mohawk,  and  when  he  retired  to  private  life,  he  com 
menced  the  clearing  up  and  cultivation  of  those  lands. 
So  productive  was  the  soil,  and  so  attractive  was  the 
beauty  of  that  country,  that  in  1803  he  moved  thither,  al 
though  then  sixty-nine  years  old.  He  directed  his  atten 
tion  to  the  cultivation  of  his  domain,  and  in  a  few  years, 
the  "  wilderness  blossomed  as  the  rose,"  and  productive 
farms  spread  out  on  every  side. 

In  1800  he  was  chosen  a  Presidential  Elector;  and  in 
1801  he  was  a  delegate  in  the  Convention  that  revised 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York.  He  was  sub 
sequently  chosen  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  was 
several  times  a  Presidential  Elector.  The  last  time  that 
he  served  in  that  capacity  was  a  year  before  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  fourth  day  of  August,  1821,  when 
he  was  eighty-seven  years  of  age.  Mi.  Floyd  had  always 
enjoyed  robust  health,  and  he  retained  his  mental  facul 
ties  in  their  wonted  vigor,  until  the  last.  His  life  was  a 
long  and  active  one  ;  and,  as  a  thorough  business  man,  his 
services  proved  of  great  public  utility  during  the  stormy 
times  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  no  less  tempestuous  and 
dangerous  period  when  our  government  was  settling  down 
upon  its  present  steadfast  basis.  Decision  was  a  leading 
feature  in  his  character,  and  trifling  obstacles  never 
thwarted  his  purposes  when  his  opinion  and  determina 
tion  were  fixed.  And  let  it  be  remembered  that  this  noble 
characteristic,  decision,  was  a  prominent  one  with  all  of 
that  sacred  band  who  signed  the  charter  of  our  emanci 
pation,  arid  that  without  this,  men  cannot  be  truly  great. 
or  eminently  useful. 


MONO  the  brilliant  names  of  the  Rev 
olutionary  era,  none  shine  with  a 
purer  lustre,  than  that  of  Livingston. 
Like  the  name  of  Wolcott,  from  the 
early  settlement  of  our  country  to 
the  present  time,  that  name  has  been 

conspicuously  honored,  and  has  held  a  large  place  in  the 

public  esteem. 

Philip  Livingston  was   descended  from   a  Scotch  min- 

fcfier  of  the  gospel,  of  exemplary  character,  who,  in  1663 

67 


68  NEW  YORK. 

left  Scotland  and  settled  in  Rotterdam,  where  lie  died, 
His  son  Robert  (the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  brief 
sketch)  soon  after  his  father's  decease,  emigrated  to  Amer 
ica,  and,  under  the  patroon  privileges,  obtained  a  grant 
of  a  large  tract  of  land  upon  the  Hudson  River,  (now  in 
Columbia  County,)  ever  since  known  as  Livingston's  Ma 
nor.  He  had  three  sons,  of  whom  Philip  was  the  oldest, 
and  who  became,  on  the  death  of  his  father,  heir  to  the 
manor.* 

Philip  was  bora  at  Albany,  on  the  fifteenth  of  January, 
1716.  After  completing  a  preparative  course  of  study, 
he  entered  Yale  College,  at  New  Haven,  where  4ie  grad 
uated  with  distinguished  honor  in  1737.  He  at  once 
turned  his  attention  to  commercial  pursuits,  and  engaged 
in  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  his  integrity  and  upright  dealings  won  for 
him  the  profound  respect  of  the  whole  community. 

Mr.  Livingston  first  entered  upon  public  life  in  1754, 
when  he  was   elected  an  Alderman  of  the  East  Ward  of 
the  city  of  New  York.f     For  nine  consecutive  years  he 
was  re-elected  to  that  office,  and  always  gave  entire  satis 
faction  to  his  constituents. 

When  Sir  Charles  Hardy,  the  Governor  of  the  Colony 
of  New  .York,  was  appointed  a  rear-admiral  in  the  Brit 
ish  navy,  the  government  devolved  upon  the  lieutenant, 
Delancey,  who  at  once,  on  the  resignation  of  the  gover 
nor,  dissolved  the  General  Assembly  and  ordered  new 
elections.  These  contests  at  that  time  were  very  warm, 
but  the  superior  education  and  influence  of  the  Livingston 
family  secured  for  Philip  and  his  brother  Robert,  seats 

*  His  two  brothers,  Robert  and  Gilbert,  were  influenti.il  men  at  that  time.  The 
former  was  the  father  of  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  administered  the  inaugural 
oath  to  Washington,  in  1789 ;  and  the  latter  was  the  father  of  the  late  Rev.  JohD 
Livingston,  D.  D..  President  of  Rutger's  College,  New  Jersey. 

t  At  that  time  the  city  contained  only  about  eleven  thousand  inhabitants  •  and 
what  is  now  called  Wall  street,  was  quite  at  the  north  part  of  the  town 


PHILIP    LIVINGSTON.  69 

in  that  body.  It  was  a  period  of  much  agitation  and 
alarm,*  and  required  sterling  men  in  legislative  councils. 
Mr.  Livingston  soon  became  a  leader  among  his  colleagues, 
and  by  his  superior  wisdom  and  sagacity,  measures  were 
set  on  foot  which  resulted  in  the  capture  from  the  French 
of  several  important  frontier  fortresses,  and  finally  the  sub 
jugation  of  Canada. 

For  some  time  previous  to  the  Revolution,  nearly  all 
the  Colonies  had  resident  agents  in  England.  The  cele 
brated  Edmund  Burke  was  the  agent  for  New  York  when 
the  war  broke  out,  and  it  is  believed  that  his  enlightened 
views  of  American  affairs,  as  manifested  in  his  brilliant 
speeches  in  Parliament  in  defence  of  the  Colonies,  were 
derived  from  his  long  continued  and  constant  correspond 
ence  with  Philip  Livingston,  who  was  appointed  one  of 
a  committee  of  the  New  York  Assembly,  for  that  pur 
pose.  He  was  very  influential  in  that  body,  and  early 
^ook  a  decided  stand  against  the  unrighteous  acts  of  Great 
Britain.  He  was  the  associate  and  leader  of  such  men 
as  General  Schuyler,  Pierre  Van  Cortlandt,  Charles  De 
Witt,  &c.,  and  so  long  as  whig  principles  had  the  ascen 
dency  in  the  Provincial  Assembly,  he  was  the  Speaker 
of  the  House.  When  toryism  took  possession  of  the 
province  he  left  the  Assembly.  In  1774,  Mr.  Livingston 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  first  Continental  Congress, 
and  was  on  the  committee  that  prepared  the  address  to 
the  people  of  Great  Britain  ;  an  address  replete  with  bold 
and  original  thoughts,  perspicuous  propositions  and  con 
vincing  arguments.!  The  next  year  the  Assembly  pre 
sented  such  an  array  of  toiies,  that  it  was  impossible  to 

*  The  "  French  and  Indian  Wai-,"  which  was  the  American  division  of  the  famous 
'  Seven  Years'  War,"  was  then  at  its  height,  and  the  brilliant  successes  of  Mont- 
calm  upon  the  northern  frontier  of  New  York,  gave  the  people  great  uneasiness. 

t  William  Pitt,  the  great  Earl  of  Chatham,  speaking  of  that  first  Congress,  and 
the  addresses  put  forth  by  it,  said :  "  I  must  declare  and  aver,  that  in  all  my  read- 
Ing  and  study  —  and  it  has  been  my  favorite  study  —  I  have  read  Thucvdidea,  and 


70  NEW  YORK. 

elect  delegates  to  the  second  Congress.  Accc  rdingly  sev 
eral  counties*  3f  New  York  sent  delegates  to  a  Provin- 

a  April     c^  Convention,"  which  body  elected  delegates 
177o-      to    the   General  Congress,    among    whom   was 
Philip  Livingston,  and  his  nephew,  Robert  R.  Livingston. 
These   delegates  were   vested  with  power  to  act  as  cir 
cumstances  should  require. 

Mr.  Livingston  warmly  supported  the  proposition  for 
Independence,  and  he  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declara 
tion  thereof.  This  was  sanctioned  by  the  Provincial  As 
sembly  of  New  York. 

When  the  State  governments  were  formed,  after  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  Mr.  Livingston  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  first  Senate  of  New  York,  which  met  on 
the  tenth  of  September,  1777.  In  1778,  although  his 
health  was  in  a  precarious  state,  occasioned  by  dropsy  in 
the  chest,  he  obeyed  the  calls  of  duty,  and  took  his  seat 
in  Congress,  to  which  he  had  been  elected.  He  had  a 
presentiment  that  he  should  not  return  to  his  family,  and 
accordingly  on  his  departure,  he  bade  his  family  and 

b  MaV(  friends  a  final  adieu.6  On  the  twelfth  of  June 
following,  his  presentiment  became  a  reality,  and 
his  disease  then  suddenly  terminated  his  life,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two  years.  No  relative  was  near  to  smooth  his  dying 
pillow,  except  his  son  Henry,  a  lad  of  eighteen  years,  then 
residing  in  the  family  of  General  Washington. 

Mr.  Livingston  was  zealous  in  the  promotion  of  every 
enterprise  conducive  to  the  public  welfare, t  and  has  lefl. 
behind  him  a  name  and  fame  that  kings  might  covet. 

have  studied  and  admired  the  master  spirits  of  the  world  —  that  for  solidity  of 
reasoning,  force  of  sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  conclusion,  under  such  a  complica 
tion  of  circumstances,  no  nation,  or  body  of  men,  can  stand  in  preference  to  l\ie 
General  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 

*  New  York,  Albany,  Dutchess,  Ulster,  Grants,  Westchester,  Kings,  and  SuffolJt, 
t  lie  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  York  Society  Library;  also,  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce ;   nnd  was  an  active  promoter  of  the  establishment  of 
King's  (now  Columbia)  Colleg3 


RANCIS  LEWIS  was  born  in  Wales,  in 
the  town  of  Landaff,  in  the  year  1713. 
His  father  was  an  Episcopal  clergyman, 
his  mother  was  a  clergyman's  daughter, 
and  Francis  was  their  only  child.  He 
was  left  an  orphan  when  only  about  five 
years  old,  and  was  taken  under  the  care  and  protection 

of  a  maiden  aunt,  who  watched  over  him  with  the  appa 

71 


72  NEW  YORK. 

rent  solicitude  of  a  mother.  He  received  a  portion  of  his 
education  in  Scotland  with  another  relative,  and  became 
proficient  not  only  in  his  native  tongue  (the  ancient  Bri 
ton)  but  in  the  Gaelic  language,  then  mostly  used  in  Scot- 
land.  His  uncle,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  in  London,  after 
ward  sent  him  to  Westminster,  where  he  obtained  a  good 
education. 

After  leaving  school  he  served  an  apprenticeship  with 
a  London  merchant.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  be 
came  the  possessor  of  some  money,  which  he  invested 
in  merchandise  and  sailed  for  New  York,  in  which  city 
he  formed  a  business  partnership.  Leaving  a  portion  of 
his  goods  with  his  associate,  he  proceeded  to  Philadel 
phia  with  the  balance,  where  he  resided  for  two  years. 
He  then  returned  to  New  York,  and  made  that  his  place 
of  business  and  abode.  He  married  the  sister  of  Mr.  An- 
nesly,  his  partner,  by  whom  he  had  seven  children. 

Mr.  Lewis'  business  increased,  and  his  commercial  pur 
suits  kept  him  much  of  his  time  in  Europe  until  the  open 
ing  of  the  "  French  and  Indian  War,"  in  which  he  was 
an  active  partisan.  He  was  the  aid  of  Colonel  Mercer, 
at  Oswego,  when  that  Fort  was  captured  by  Montcalm  in 
August,  1757.  Mercer  was  slain,  and  Lewis  was  carried, 
with  other  prisoners,  to  Canada.*  Thence  he  was  sent 
to  France,  and  was  finally  exchanged.  At  the  close  of 
the  war,  five  thousand  acres  of  land  were  given  him  by  the 
British  government  as  a  compensation  for  his  services. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  distinguished  during  the  administration 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  for  his  republican  views,  and  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  delegates  for  New  York  in  the  Colonial  Con 
gress  of  1765.  When  the  Stamp  Act  became  a  law,  and 
non-importation  agreements  nearly  ruined  commerce,  he 

*  Fourteen  hundred  men  were  made  prisoners ;  and  thirty-four  pieces  of  cannon, 
•  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  stores,  and  several  vessels  in  the  harbor,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  French.  The  Fort  was  demolished,  and  was  never  rebuilt 


FRANCIS    LEWIS.  73 

retired  from  business  to  his  country  residence  on  Long 
Island. 

In  1775  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con 
gress,  by  the  convention  of  deputies  from  several  coun 
ties  of  New  York.*  He  was  also  elected  a  delegate  for 
1776,  by  the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  he  became  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  Au 
gust  of  that  year.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress  until 
1778,  and  was  always  an  active  committee  man  in  that 
body. 

Mr.  Lewis  was  a  shining  mark  for  the  resentment  of 
the  British  and  tories,t  and  while  the  former  possessed 
Long  Island,  they  not  only  destroyed  his  property,  but 
had  the  brutality  to  confine  his  wife  in  a  close  prison  for 
several  months,  without  a  bed  or  a  change  of  raiment, 
whereby  her  constitution  was  ruined,  and  she  died  two 
years  afterward. 

Having  attained  to  the  ripe  age  of  nearly  ninety  years, 
and  honored  by  the  universal  reverence  and  esteem  of  his 
countrymen,  Mr.  Lewis  departed  this  life  on  the  thirtieth 
of  December,  1803. 

*  See  Life  of  Philip  Livingston. 

t  The  party  names  of  Whig  and  Tory  were  first  used  in  New  York,  in  1774, 
and  rapidly  spread  throughout  the  Colonies.  The  name  of  Tory  was  applied  to 
the  American  royalists,  and  the  name  of  Whig  was  assumed  by  the  patriots.  The 
origin  of  these  names,  (which  were  copied  from  the  English)  is  obscuro.  Ac 
cording  to  Bishop  Burnett,  the  term  whig  has  the  following  derivation  •„  The 
people  of  the  southwestern  parts  of  Scotland,  not  raising  sufficient  grain  to  last 
them  through  the  winter,  generally  went  to  Leith  to  purchase  the  superabundance 
of  the  North.  From  the  word  Whiggam,  which  they  used  in  driving  their  horses, 
they  were  called  Wkiggamores,  and,  abbreviated,  Whigs.  On  one  of  these  oc 
casions,  news  having  reached  Leith  of  the  defeat  of  Duke  Hamilton,  the  minis 
ters  invited  the  Whiggamores  to  march  against  Edinburgh,  and  they  went  at  their 
head,  preaching  and  praying  all  the  way.  The  Marquis  of  Argyle,  with  a  force,  op 
posed  and  dispersed  them.  This  was  called  the  "  Wltiggamore  inroad,"  and 
ever  after  that,  all  that  opposed  the  Court,  came  in  contempt  to  be  called  Whigi. 
The  English  adopted  the  name.  The  origin  of  the  word  Tory  is  not  clear.  It 
was  first  used  in  Ireland  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.  Sir  Richard  Phillips  defines  the 
two  parties  thus  :  "  Those  are  Whigs  who  would  curb  the  power  of  the  CH>WB.- 
those  are  Tories  who  would  curl)  the  power  of  the  people." 

4 


EWIS  MORRIS  was  born  at  Morrisama, 
Westch ester  county,  New  York,  in 
the  year  1 726.  Being  the  eldest  son, 
he  inherited  his  father's  manorial  es- 
tate,*  which  placed  him  in  affluent 
circumstances.  At  the  age  of  six 
-een  years  he  entered  Yale  College,  and  under  the  pres 
idency  of  the  excellent  Rev.  Mr.  Clapp,  he  received  his 

*  At  that  time,  the  English  primogeniture  law  prevailed  in  America,  and  evea 
after  the  Revolution,  Virginia   and  some  other  States  retained  it. 

74 


LEWIS    MORRIS.  75 

education.     He  graduated  with  the  usual  honors  at  twenty, 
and  returned  to  the  supervision  of  his  large  estate. 

Mr.  Morris  was  a  handsome  man  ;  and  his  personal  ap 
pearance,  connected  with  a  strong  intellect  and  great 
wealth,  made  him  popular  throughout  the  Colony.  "When* 
Great  Britain  oppressed  her  children  here,  he  hardly  felt 
the  unkind  hand,  yet  his  sympathy  for  others  was  aroused, 
and  he  was  among  the  first  to  lisk  ease,  reputation  and 
fortune,  by  coalescing  with  the  patriots  of  Massachusetts 
and  Virginia.  His  clear  perception  saw  the  end  from  the 
beginning,  and  those  delusive  hopes  which  the  repeal  of 
obnoxious  acts  held  forth,  had  no  power  over  Lewis  Morris. 
Neither  could  they  influence  his  patriotism,  for  he  was  a 
stranger  to  a  vacillating,  temporizing  spirit.  He  refused 
office  under  the  Colonial  government,  for  his  domestic 
ease  and  comfort  were  paramount  to  the  ephemeral  en 
joyments  of  place.  Hence,  when  he  forsook  his  quiet 
hearth,  and  engaged  in  the  party  strife  of  the  Revolution, 
hazarding  fortune  and  friends,  no  sinister  motive  could  be 
alleged  for  his  actions,  and  all  regarded  him  as  a  patriot 
without  selfish  alloy.  He  looked  upon  war  with  the 
mother-country  as  inevitable,  and  so  boldly  expressed  his 
opinion  upon  these  subjects,  that  the  still  rather  lukewarm 
Colony  of  New  York  did  not  think  proper  to  send  him 
as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress  of  1774.*  But  the 
feelings  of  the  people  changed,  and  in  April,  1775,  Mr, 
Lewis  was  elected  a  member  of  the  second  Congress  that 
met  in  May  following. 

During  the  summer  of  1775,  Mr.  Morris  was  sent  on  a 
mission  of  pacification  to  the  Indians  on  the  western  frou- 

*  New  York  was  so  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  British  fleet  under 
Lord  Howe,  then  hovering  upon  our  coast,  and  so  forewarned  by  the  miseries  of 
Boston,  and  the  destruction  of  Falmouth,  that  turyism,  or  loyalty  to  the  crown, 
found  ample  nutriment  among  the  people  of  the  city.  It  was  in  the  city  of  New 
York  that  the  names  of  whig  and  tory  were  first  applied  to  the  distinctive  po 
litical  parties. 


/6  NEW  YORK. 

tier.  He  was  again  elected  tr  Cong/ess  in  1776,  and 
when  the  question  of  Independence  came  up,  he  boldly 
advocated  the  measure,  although  it  seemed  in  opposition 
to  all  his  worldly  interests.*  Like  the  others  of  the  New 
York  delegation,  he  was  embarrassed  by  the  timidity  of 
the  Provincial  Congress,  which  seemed  unwilling  to  sanc 
tion  a  measure  so  widely  antipodent  to  all  reconciliation 
with  Great  Britain.  But  the  conviction  of  the  final  ne 
cessity  of  such  a  step,  had  been  long  fixed  in  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Morris,  and  he  did  not  for  a  moment  falter.  He 
voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  his  State  afterward  thanked  him  for  his  patriotic  firm 
ness.*  His  family  seemed  to  be  imbued  with  his  own 
sentiments,  for  three  of  his  sons  entered  the  army,  served 
with  distinction,  and  received  the  approbation  of  Congress. 
Mr.  Morris  relinquished  his  seat  in  the  National  Coun 
cil  in  1777,  but  he  was  constantly  employed  in  public  ser 
vice  in  his  native  State,  either  in  its  legislature,  or  as  a 
military  commander,!  until  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  When  peace  was  restored,  he  returned  to  his  scathed 
and  almost  ruined  estate,  where  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days  in  agricultural  pursuits,  amid  that  happy  quiet 
of  domestic  life,  which  an  active  and  virtuous  career  pro 
motes.  He  died  in  January,  1798,  in  LJIC  seventy-second 
year  of  his  age.  His  funeral  presented  a  large  concourse 
cf  citizens,  who  truly  mourned  his  loss  ;  and  the  military 
honors  due  to  his  rank  of  Major  General,  were  rendered, 
when  his  body  was  committed  to  the  family  vault. 

*  He  plainly  foresaw  what  actually  happened  —  his  house  ruined,  lie  farm 
wasted,  his  forest  of  a  thousand  acres  despoiled,  h'*sattle  carried  off,  and  his 
family  driven  into  exile  by  the  invading  foe. 

t  When,  in  1777,  Mr.  Morris  left  Congress  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother, 
Gouvernetir  Morris,  the  Convention  that  elected  the  latter,  adopted  a  vote  of  thanks 
to  him  for  his  "long  and  faithful  services  rendered  to  the  Colony  of  New  York." 

j  He  was  raised  to  the  rank  :."  Mnjor  General,  lm«-  his  active  services  were  U3t 
brought  into  much  requisition 


Princeton,  where 
settlement. 


HE  great  grandfather  of  RICHARD 
STOCKTON  came  from  England  some 
time  between  1660  and  1670,  and  first 
settled  upon  Long  Island,  in  the  Colony 
of  New  York.  Thence  he  went  into 
New  Jersey,  and  with  his  ample  means 
purchased  a  fine  tract  of  land-  near 
with  a  few  others,  he  commenced  a 


NEW  JERSEY. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  up<  11  the  Stock 
ton  manor,  on  the  first  of  October,  1730.  He  pursued  his 
studies,  preparatory  to  a  collegiate  course,  at  an  academy 
in  Maryland,  and  after  two  years  thus  spent,  he  entered 
New  Jersey  college,  then  located  at  Newark.  He  grad 
uated  in  1748,  and  was  placed  as  a  student  of  law,  under 
the  Hon.  David  Ogden,  of  Newark. 

Mr.  Stockton  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1754,  and  rose 
so  rapidly  in  his  profession,  that  in  1763  he  received  the 
degree  of  sergeant-at-law,*  a  high  distinction  in  the  Eng 
lish  Courts,  and  then  recognised  in  the  American  Colo 
nies. 

In  June,  1766,  Mr.  Stockton  embarked  for  London, 
a/:d  during  the  fifteen  months  he  remained  in  England  he 
was  treated  with  flattering  distinction  by  the  most  emi 
nent  men  in  the  realm.  While  there  he  was  not  unmind 
ful  of  his  alma  mater,  and  he  obtained  considerable  pa 
tronage  for  New  Jersey  College.  His  services  were  af 
terward  gratefully  acknowledged  by  that  institution. 

At  tho  time  Mr.  Stockton  was  in  England,  American 
affairs  had  assumed  so  much  importance,  that  partisan 
feeling  had  sprung  up  there,  and  as  a  consequence,  the 
opinions  of  so  distinguished  an  American  were  sought  for. 
By  invitation,  Mr.  Stockton  spent  a  week  at  the  country 
seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham,f  and  on  his  making 
a  tour  to  Edinburgh,  he  was  entertained  by  the  Earl  of 
Leven  and  other  noblemen.  At  Edinburgh  he  was  re- 

*  Scrgeant-at-Law  —  (servicns  ad  legem)  —  is  the  highest  degree  taken  in  England 
in  the  common  law.  They  are  sometimes  called  sergeants  of  the  coif,  from  tha 
lawn  coif  they  wear  on  their  heads,  under  their  caps,  when  they  are  created. — 
Treasury  of  Knowledge. 

t  The  Marquis  of  Rockingham  was  an  honorable  and  liberal  statesman.  He 
was  elevated  to  the  premiership  of  England  in  1766,  as  successor  of  Grenviile, 
the  author  of  the  Stamp  Act.  Edmund  Burke,  and  men  of  like  character  wero 
exiled  into  his  cabinet,  and  the  Americans  had  some  hopes  of  justice  under  his 
administration.  But  his  cabinet  was  soon  dissolved,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
Lord  North,  author  of  the  Tea  Act  and  kindred  measures. 


RICHARD    STOCKTON.  79 

reived  by  the  Lord  Provost,  in  the  name  of  the  citizens, 
and  by  a  unanimous  vote,  the  freedom  of  the  city  was 
conferred  upon  him.  During  his  stay  there  he  visited 
Doctor  Witherspoon,  at  Paisley,  who  afterward  became 
a  resident  in  the  Colonies,  and  a  signer  of  the  instrument 
declaring  their  emancipation  from  British  rule.* 

Improvement  in  his  profession  being  his  chief  object  in 
visiting  Great  Britain,  Mr.  Stockton  was  a  constant  at 
tendant  upon  the  higher  courts  when  ill  London,  and 
often  visited  the  theatre  to  witness  the  eloquence  of  Gar- 
rick.  He  returned  home  in  September,  1767,  and  was 
escorted  to  his  residence  by  the  people,  by  whom  he  was 
greatly  beloved. 

In  1768,  Mr.  Stockton  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
royal  executive  council  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  1774  he 
was  placed  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that 
Province.  Having  been  honored  by  the  personal  regard 
of  the  King,  and  possessing  an  ample  fortune,  it  would 
have  seemed  natural  for  him  to  have  remained  loyal ;  but, 
like  Lewis  Morris,  his  principles  could  not  be  governed 
by  self-interest,  and  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  patriots. 
The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  elected  him  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Congress  in  1776,  and  he  took 
his  seat  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  debate  upon  the  propo 
sition  for  Independence.  At  first,  he  seemed  doubtful  of 
the  expediency  of  an  immediate  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  but  after  hearing  the  sentiments  of  nearly  all, 
and  the  conclusive  arguments  of  John  Adams,  he  voted  in 
favor  of  the  measure,  and  cheerfully  signed  the  Declaration. 

In  September  of  that  year,  Mr.  Stockton  received  an 
equal  number  of  votes  with  Mr.  Livingston,  for  Governor 

*  Dr.  Witherspoon  had  been  appointed  President  of  Nassau  Hall  College,  at 
Princeton,  a  short  time  before  the  visit  of  Mr.  Stockton,  but  declined  its  accep 
tance.  It  is  supposed  that  the  latter  persuaded  him  to  reconsider  his  declsi  on,  foi 
a  short  time  after  his  return  to  America  Dr.  W.  accepted  the  office. 


SO  NEW  JERSEY. 

of  New  Jersey,  but  for  urgent  reasons,  his  friends  gave 
the  election  to  his  competitor.  He  was  at  once  elected 
Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  but  he  declined  the  honor,  and 
was  re-elected  to  the  General  Congress.  He  was  an  ac 
tive  and  influential  member,  and  with  Mr.  Clymer,  was 
sent,  during  the  autumn,  on  a  delicate  mission  to  visit  the 
northern  army  under  General  Schuyler.*  Soon  after  his 
return,  he  was  obliged  to  hasten  to  his  family  to  prevent 
their  capture  by  the  British  army,  then  pursuing  Wash 
ington  and  his  little  band  across  New  Jersey.!  He  re 
moved  them  to  the  house  of  a  friend  about  thirty  miles 
distant,  but  there  he  was  captured  by  a  party  of  refugees, 
who  were  guided  to  his  retreat  by  a  treacherous  neigh 
bor  of  his  friend.  He  remained  a  prisoner  for  some  time,, 
and,  on  account  of  his  position  as  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  was  treated  with 
great  severity  .f  The  hardships  he  endured  shattered  his 
constitution,§  and  when  he  found  himself  almost  a  beggar, 
through  tke  vandalism  of  the  British  in  destroying  his  es 
tate,  and  by  the  depreciation  of  the  continental  paper  cur 
rency,  he  was  seized  with  a  despondency  from  which  he 
never  recovered.  A  cancer  in  his  neck  also  hurried  him 
toward  the  grave,  and  he  died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
February,  1781,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age. 

*  From  causes  which  seem  never  to  have  been  fully  explained,  the  army  of 
the  north  was  then  in  a  wretched  condition,  and  the  object  of  the  mission  of  Mr. 
Stockton  and  his  colleagues,  was  to  inquire  into  the  causes  and  propose  a  remedy. 

t  After  the  success  of  Cornwallis  in  capturing  Fort  Washington,  on  York  Is 
land,  Washington  crossed  the  Hudson  with  the  main  army  of  Americans,  and  for 
three  weeks  he  was  closely  pursued  by  the  British  General  across  New  Jersey  to 
Trenton,  where  the  memorable  crossing  of  the  Delaware  took  place. 

J  He  was  first  placed  in  the  common  jail  at  Amboy,  and  afterward  he  was  car- 
riod  to  the  old  Provost  prison  hi  New  York,  which  stood  where  the  present  Hal! 
of  Records,  in  the  Park,  now  stands. 

§  He  suffered  greatly  from  cold,  and  at  one  time  he  was  kept  twenty-four  houri 
without  a  particle  of  food.  Congress  took  up  his  cause,  and  threatened  Lord 
Howe  with  retaliation  upon  British  prisoners.  This  had  its  effect,  and  he  wai 
•ron  afterward  exchanged. 


OHN  WITHERSPOON  was  born  in  the  par 
ish  of  Yester,  near  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
on  the  fifth  of  February,  1722.  He  was 
a  lineal  descendant  of  the  great  reformer 
John  Knox.  His  father  was  a  minister 
in  the  Scottish  church,  at  Yester,  and 
was  greatly  beloved.  He  took  great  pains  to  have  the 
early  education  of  his  son  based  upon  sound  moral  and 
religious  principles,  and  early  determined  to  fit  him  for 
tbe  gospel  ministry.  His  primary  education  was  received! 

4*       ..  81 


82  NEW  JERSEY. 

in  a  school  at  Haddington,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years  he  was  placed  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He 
was  a  very  diligent  student,  and,  to  the  delight  of  his  fa 
ther,  his  mind  was  specially  directed  toward  sacred  litera 
ture.  He  went  through  a  regular  theological  course  of 
study,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty -two  years  he  graduated,  a 
licensed  preacher.  JTe  was  requested  to  remain  in  Yes- 
ter,  as  an  assistant  of  ;\'s  father,  but  he  accepted  a  call  at 
Beith,  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  where  he  labored  faithfully 
for  several  years.* 

From  Beith  he  removed  to  Paisley,  where  he  became 
widely  known  for  his  piety  and  learning.  He  was  sever 
ally  invited  to  take  charge  of  a  parish  and  flock,  at  Dub 
lin,  in  Ireland  ;  Dundee,  in  Scotland  ;  and  Rotterdam,  in 
Holland ;  but  he  declined  them  all.  In  1766  he  was  in 
vited,  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  trustees  of  New  Jer 
sey  College,  to  become  its  president,  but  this,  too,  he  de 
clined,  partly  on  account  of  the  unwillingness  of  his  wife 
to  leave  the  land  of  her  nativity.  But  being  strongly  urged 
by  Richard  Stockton  (afterward  his  colleague  in  Con 
gress,  and  fellow  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence),  then  on  a  visit  to  that  country,  he  accepted  the  ap 
pointment,  and  sailed  for  America.  He  arrived  at  Prince 
ton  with  his  family,  in  August,  1768,  and  on  the  seven 
teenth  of  that  month  he  was  inaugurated  president  of  the 
College.  His  name  and  his  exertions  wrought  a  great 
change  in  the  affairs  of  that  institution,  and  from  a  low 
condition  in  its  finances  and  other  essential  elements  of 
prosperity,  it  soon  rose  to  a  proud  eminence  among  the 
institutions  of  learning  in  America.f 

*  While  he  was  stationed  at  Beith,  the  battle  of  Falkirk  took  place,  between 
the  forces  of  George  the  Second,  and  Prince  Charles  Stuart,  during  the  commo- 
jon  known  as  the  Scotch  rebellion,  in  1745-6.  Mr.  Withersponn  and  others  went 
to  witness  the  battle,  which  proved  victorious  to  the  rebels  :  and  he,  with  several 
others,  •were  taken  prisoners,  and  for  some  time  confjied  intiiic  castle  of  Donne. 

t  For  along  time  party  feuds  had  retarded  the  healthy  growth  of  the  College, 
and  its  finances  were  in  such  a  wretched  condition,  that  resuscitation  seemed  al- 


JOHN  WITIIERSPOON.  83 

When  the  British  army  invaded  New  Jersey,  the  Col 
lege  at  Princeton  was  broken  up,  and  the  extensive  knowl 
edge  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  called  into  play  in  a  vastly 
different  arena.  He  was  called  upon  early  in  1776,  to 
assist  in  the  formation  of  a  new  Constitution  for  New  Jer 
sey,*  and  his  patriotic  sentiments  and  sound  judgment 
were  there  so  conspicuous,  that  in  June  of  that  year,  he 
was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress.  He  had 
already  formed  a  decided  opinion  in  favor  of  Indepen 
dence,  and  he  gave  his  support  to  the  resolution  declaring 
the  States  free  forever.t  On  the  second  of  August,  1776, 
he  affixed  his  signature  to  the  Declaration. 

Doctor  Witherspoon  was  a  member  of  Congress  from 
the  period  of  his  first  election  until  1782,  except  a  part  of 
the  year  1780,  and  so  strict  was  he  in  his  attendance,  that 
it  was  a  very  rare  thing  to  find  him  absent.  He  was  placed 
upon  the  most  important  committees,  and  intrusted  with 
delicate  commissions.  He  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  both 
military  and  financial  matters,  and  his  colleagues  were  as 
tonished  at  the  versatility  of  his  knowledge. 

After  the  restoration  of  peace  in  1783,  Doctor  With 
erspoon  withdrew  from  public  life,  except  so  far  as  his 
duties  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  brought  him  before  his 
flock.  He  endeavored  to  resuscitate  the  prostrate  insti 
tution  over  which  he  had  presided.  Although  to  his  son- 
in-law,  Vice  President  Smith,  was  intrusted  the  active  du- 

most  hopeless.  But  the  presence  of  Doctor  Witherspoon  silenced  party  dissen 
sions,  and  awakened  new  confidence  in  the  institution  ;  and  the  province  of  New 
Jersey,  which  had  hitherto  withheld  its  fostering  aid,  now  came  forward  and  en 
dowed  professorships  in  it. 

*  After  the  abdication  of  the  Colonial  Governors,  in  1774  and  1775,  provisional 
governments  were  formed  in  the  various  States,  and  popular  Constitutions  were 
framed,  by  which  they  were  severally  governed  under  the  old  confederacy. 

t  He  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  on  the  twenty -ninth   of  June,  1776.     On  the  first 

«»f  July,  when  the  subject  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  discussed,  a 

distinguished  member  remarked,  that  "the  people  are  not  ripe  for  a  Declaration 

-of  Independence."    Doctor   Witherspoon  observed:   "In  my  judgment^  sir,  w« 

fire  not  only  ripe,  but  rotting." 


84  NEW  JERSEY. 

ties  in  the  effort,  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  name 
and  influence  of  Doctor  "Witherspoon  were  chiefly  instru 
mental  in  effecting  the  result  which  followed.  After  ur 
gent  solicitation,  he  consented  to  go  to  Great  Britain  and 
ask  for  pecuniary  aid  for  the  college.  In  this  movement 
his  own  judgment  could  not  concur,  fur  he  knew  enough 
of  human  nature  to  believe  that  while  political  resentment 
was  still  so  warm  there  against  a  people  who  had  just  cut 
asunder  the  bond  of  union  with  them,  no  enterprise  could 
offer  charms  sufficient  to  overcome  it.  In  this  he  was 
correct,  for  he  collected  barely  enough  to  pay  the  expense 
of  his  voyage. 

About  two  years  before  his  death,  he  lost  his  eye-sight, 
yet  his  ministerial  duties  were  not.  relinquished.  Aided 
by  the  guiding  hand  of  another,  he  would  ascend  the  pul 
pit,  and  with  all  the  fervor  of  his  prime  and  vigor,  break 
the  Bread  of  Life  to  the  eager  listeners  to  his  message. 

As  a  theological  writer,  Doctor  Witherspoon  had  few 
superiors,  and  as  a  statesman  he  held  the  first  rank.  In 
him  were  centred  the  social  elements  of  an  upright  citi 
zen,  a  fond  parent,*  a  just  tutor,  and  humble  Christian  ; 
and  when,  on  the  tenth  of  November,  1794,  at  tbe  age 
of  nearly  seventy-three  years,  his  useful  life  closed,  it  was 
widely  felt  that  a  "  great  man  had  fallen  in  Israel." 

*  Doctor  Witherspoon  was  twice  married.  By  his  first  wife,  a  Scottish  lady,  tie 
had  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  One  of  the  latter  (Frances)  married  Doctor 
David  Ramsay,  of  South  Carolina,  one  of  the  earliest  historians  of  the  American 
Revolution.  She  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  piety,  and  the  memoirs  of  but 
few  females  have  been  more  widelj'  circulated  and  profitably  rend,  than  wero 
hers,  written  by  her  husband. 


HOPKINS  ON  was  born  of  English 
parents,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1737. 
His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Bishop  of  Worcester,  and,  like  her  hus 
band,  was  well  educated,  and  moved 
in  the  polite  circles  of  England.  They 

maintained  the  same   standing  in   Philadelphia,  and  the 

subject  of  this  sketch  had  every  advantage  in  early  life 

which  social  position  could  give  him. 

Francis  was  only  fourteen  years  old  when  his  father 

died,  and  then  the  whole  care  of  a  large  family  of  chil« 


86  NEW  JERSEY. 

dren  devolved  upon  his  mother,  whose  income  was  not 
very  ample.  She  imparted  to  Francis  his  primary  edu 
cation  until  he  was  fitted  for  the  college  of  Philadelphia, 
wherein  he  was  placed.  On  leaving  that  institution,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  prac 
tice  in  1765.  He  went  to  England  the  same  year  for  the 
purpose  of  visiting  his  relatives  and  improving  his  mind. 
He  returned  in  1768,  and  was  soon  after  married  to  Miss 
Ann  Borden,  of  Bordentown,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  Hopkinson  was  a  poet  and  a  wit  ;*  and  a  knowl 
edge  of  his  superior  talents  having  reached  the  ears  of 
the  British  ministers,  he  was  appointed  to  a  lucrative  of 
fice  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  soon  after  his  marriage. 
This  he  held  until  his  republican  principles  were  too  mani 
fest,  by  both  word  and  deed,  for  the  minions  of  British 
power  here  to  mistake,  and  he  was  deprived  of  his 
office.  In  the  meanwhile,  he  had  been  growing  rapidly 
in  the  esteem  of  the  people  of  New  Jersey,  and  in  1776 
he  was  elected  by  them  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con 
gress.  He  supported  there,  by  his  vote,  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  joyfully  placed  his  signature  to  it. 

Mr.  Hopkinson  held  the  office  of  Loan  Commissioner 
for  a  number  of  years  ;  and  on  the  death  of  his  friend  and 
colleague  in  Congress,  George  Ross,  he  was  appointed 
Judge  of  Admiralty  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
held  that  office  until  1790,  when  President  Washington, 
properly  appreciating  his  abilities,  appointed  him  District 
Judge  of  the  same  State,  which  office  he  filled  with  singu 
lar  fidelity. 

Mr.  Hopkinson  was  one   of  those  modest,  quiet  men, 

•  His  pea  was  not  distinguished  for  depth,  but  there  was  a  genuine  humor  in 
Ills  productions,  which  made  him  widely  popular.  A  majority  of  his  poetical  ef 
fusions  were  of  an  ephemeral  nature,  and  were  forgotten,  in  a  degree,  with  tnr 
occasion  which  called  them  forth  ;  yet  a  few  have  been  preserved,  among  which 
may  be  mentioned  "  The  Battle  of  the  Kegs,"  a  ballad,  or  sort  of  epic,  of  inimi 
table  humor 


JOHN   HART. 


S7 


on  whom  the  mantle  of  true  genius  so  frequently  falls. 
Although  ardent  in  his  patriotism  and  keenly  alive  to  the 
events  in  the  midst  of  which  he  was  pi:  ced,  yet  he  sel- 
d-om  engaged  in  debate  ;  and  his  public  life  is  not  marked 
by  those  varied  and  striking  features,  so  prominently  dis 
played  in  the  lives  of  many  of  his  compatriots. 

For  several  years  Judge  Hopkinson  was  afflicted  with 
gout  in  the  head,  which  finally  caused  a  fit  of  apoplexy 
that  terminated  his  life  in  two  hours  after  the  atta  ck,  in 
May,  1791.  He  was  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age. 
He  left  a  widow  and  five  children. 


NE  of  the  most  unbending  patriots 
of  the  Revolution  was  JOHN  HART, 
the  New  Jersey  farmer.  His  fa 
ther,  Edward  Hart,  was  also  a  thrifty 
farmer,  and  a  loyal  subject  of  his 
King.  In  1759  he  raised  a  volun 
teer  corps,  which  he  named  "  The 
Jersey  Blues,"  and  joined  Wolfe  at  Quebec  in  time  to 
see  that  hero  fall,  but  the  English  victorious.  Pie  then 
retired  to  his  farm,  and  ever  afterward  held  a  high  place 
in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people.  The  time  of 
the  birth  of  his  son  John  is  not  on  record,  and  but  few 
incidents  of  his  early  life  are  known.* 

*  His  contemporaries  represent  him  as  about  sixty  years  of  age  when  -  fin>t 
elected  to  Congress.  If  so,  he  must  hrre  been  born  about  the  close  oi  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne,  1714. 


88  NEW  JERSEY. 

Mi ,  Hart  pursued  the  avocation  of  his  father,  and  waa 
in  quite  independent  circumstances  when  the  Stamp  Act 
and  its  train  of  evils  attracted  his  attention,  and  aroused 
his  sympathies  for  his  oppressed  countrymen  in  Boston, 
and  elsewhere,  where  the  heel  of  tyranny  was  plant Bd. 
Although  living  in  the  secluded  agricultural  district  of 
Hopewell,  in  Hunterdon  county,  yet  he  was  fully  conver 
sant  with  the  movements  of  public  affairs  at  home  and 
abroad,  and  he  united  with  others  in  electing  delegates  to 
the  Colonial  Congress  that  convened  in  New  York  city, 
in  1765.  From  that  time,  until  the  opening  scenes  of  the 
war,  Mr.  Hart  was  active  in  promoting  the  cause  of  free 
dom  ;  and  his  fellow  citizens  manifested  their  apprecia 
tion  of  his  services,  by  electing  him  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Continental  Congress,  in  1774.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1775,  but  finding  that  his  estate  and  family  affairs  needed 
his  services,  he  resigned  his  seat,  and  for  a  time  retired  from 
public  life.  He  was,  however,  elected  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  Vice  Presi 
dent  of  that  body. 

The  talents  of  Mr.  Hart  were  considered  too  valuable 
to  the  public,  to  remain  in  an  inactive  state,  and  in  Feb 
ruary,  1776,  he  was  again  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Gen 
eral  Congress.  He  was  too  deeply  impressed  with  the  par 
amount  importance  of  his  country's  claims,  to  permit  him 
to  refuse  the  office ;  and  he  took  his  seat  again  in  that 
body,  and  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence. 

Nothing  would  have  seemed  more  inimical  to  Mr. 
Hart's  private  interests,  than  this  act,  which  was  the  har 
binger  of  open  hostilities,  for  his  estate  was  peculiarly  ex 
posed  to  the  fury  of  the  enemy.  Nor  was  that  fury  with 
held  when  New  Jersey  was  invaded  by  the  British  and 
their  mercenary  allies,  the  Hessians.  The  signers  of  the 
Declaration  everywhere  were  marked  for  vengeance,  and 


JOHN   HART.  89 

when  the  enemy  made  their  conquering  r  escent  upon  New 
Jersey,*  Mr.  Hart's  estate  was  among  the  first  to  feel  the 
effects  of  the  desolating  inroad.t  The  blight  fell,  not  only 
upon  his  fortune,  but  upon  his  person,  and  he  did  net  live 
to  see  the  sunlight  of  Peace  and  Independence  gladden 
the  face  of  his  country.  He  died  in  the  year  1780  (the 
gloomiest  period  of  the  War  of  Independence),  full  of 
years  and  deserved  honors. 

*  After  the  capture  of  Fort  Washington,  on  York  Island,  in  November,  1776, 
Lord  Cornwallis  crossed  the  Hudson  at  Dobb's  Ferry,  with  six  thousand  men, 
and  attacked  Fort  Lee  opposite.  To  save  themselves,  the  Americans  were  obliged 
to  make  a  hasty  retreat,  leaving  behind  them  their  munitions  of  war  and  all  their 
stores.  The  garrison  joined  the  main  army  at  Hackensack  which  for  three  weeks 
fled  across  the  level  country  of  New  Jersey,  before  the  pursuing  enemy,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  a  bare  remnant  of  it  was  loft.  The  troops  dispirited  by  late 
reverses,  left  in  large  numbers  as  fast  as  their  term  of  enlistment  expired,  and 
returned  to  their  homes  ;  and  by  the  last  of  November  the  American  army  num 
bered  scarcely  three  thousand  troops,  independent  of  a  detachment  left  at 
White  Plains,  under  General  Lee.  The  country  was  so  level  that  it  afforded 
no  strong  position  to  fortify ;  indeed,  so  necessarily  rapid  had  been  the  retreat, 
that  no  time  was  allowed  for  pause  to  erect  defences.  Newark,  New  Brunswick, 
Princeton.  Trenton,  aud  smaller  places,  successively  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  and  so  hot  was  the  pursuit,  that  the  rear  of  the  Americans  was  often 
in  sight  of  the  van  of  the  British.  On  the  eighth  of  December,  Washington  and 
his  army  crossed  the  Delaware  in  boats,  and  Cornwallis  arrived  at  Tionton  just 
in  time  to  see  the  last  boat  reach  the  Pennsylvania  shore.  —  "  1776,  or  the  War  oj 
Independence,"  page  209. 

t  Mr.  Hart's  family,  having  timely  warning  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy  ii 
pursuit  of  Washington,  fled  to  a  place  of  safety.  His  farm  was  ravaged,  his  tim 
ber  destroyed,  his  .cattle  and  stock  butchered  for  the  use  of  ths  British  army, 
&nd  he  himself  was  hunted  like  a  noxious  beast,  not  daring  to  r<jn**i»  *vo  nights 
under  the  same  roof.  And  it  was  not  until  Washington's  pucrosa  ai  t*»*  battle  ot 
Trenton,  that  this  dreadful  etate  of  himself  and  family  was  ended. 


BRAHAM  CLARK  was  born  at  Eliza 
bethtown,  in  New  Jersey,  on  the 
fifteenth  of  February,  1726.  He 
was  the  only  child  of  his  parents, 
and  was  brought  up  in  the  employ 
ment  of  his  father,  a  farmer.  He 
was  quite  studious,  but  his  early  education  was  considera 
bly  neglected.  In  fact,  being  an  only  child,  he  was,  as  is 

90 


ABRAHAM  CLARK.  91 

(oo  frequently  the  case,  petted,  and  allowed  to  follow  the 
guide  of  his  inclinations  ;  and  hence  his  education  might 
be  termed  miscellaneous. 

A  slender  constitution  warned  him  that  he  could  not  pur 
sue,  successfully,  the  rough  labor  of  a  farm,  and  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  study  of  mathematics,  and  of  law.  He 
became  a  good  practical  surveyor  ;  and  though  he  never 
went  through  a  course  of  legal  study,  yet  he  transacted  a 
good  deal  of  law  business  in  Elizabethtovvn  for  a  number 
of  years,  particularly  in  the  drawing  up  of  deeds,  mort 
gages,  and  other  legal  papers.  He  acquired  the  universal 
esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people,  and  received  the 
enviable  title  of  "Poor  man's  Counsellor." 

Mr.  Clark  held  several  offices  under  the  royal  govern 
ment,  among  which  was  that  of  sheriff  of  Essex  county  ; 
and  in  all  of  them  he  exhibited  great  fidelity.  But  when 
the  question  of  political  freedom  or  slavery  was  presented 
to  his  mind,  he  did  not  for  a  moment  hesitate  in  his  choice, 
but  boldly  espoused  the  republican  cause.  He  was  placed 
upon  the  first  committee  of  vigilance  organized  in  New 
Jersey,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  watchfulness  and  un 
tiring  activity. 

In  1776,  Mr.  Clark  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Con 
tinental  Congress,  and  having  ample  instruction  from  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  he  was  not  at  all  at 
a  loss  to  know  how  to  vote  for  his  constituents,  when  the 
proposition  of  Independence  was  brought  forth.  He  first 
ook  his  seat  in  that  body,  in  June,  and  he  voted  for  and 
signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  although,  like 
the  rest  of  his  colleagues  from  New  Jersey,  he  was  thus 
jeoparding  the  safety  of  his  property,  and  lives  of  himself 
and  family.*  He  remained  an  active  member  of  the  Gen- 

*  Although  Mr.  Clark  did  not  suffer  to  person  and  estate,  like  Mr.  Stockton  and 
Mr.  Hart,  yet  his  property  was  much  reduced  in  value,  by  his  necessary  neglect 
of  it  His  two  sons  took  up  arms  and  were  captured.  They  were  for  a  timeic 


NEW  JERSEY. 


eral  Congress  until    peace  was  proclaimed,  in  1783,  with 
the  exception  of  one  term. 

In  1788,  Mr.  Clark  was  again  elected  to  the  General  Con 
gress.  In  the  interim  he  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legis 
lature,  and  an  active  politician.  He  early  perceived  the 
defects  of  the  old  confederation,  and  was  one  of  the  dele 
gates  elected  by  New  Jersey  to  the  Convention  that  framed 
She  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  in  1787. 
He  was,  however,  prevented  from  attending  by  ill  health. 
He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  for  settling 
the  accounts  of  New  Jersey  with  the  General  Govern 
ment,  and  ably  did  he  discharge  the  arduous  duty.  He 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  Congress  under  the 
present  Federal  Government,  and  continued  an  active 
member  of  that  body  until  near  the  close  of  his  life. 

When  Congress  adjourned,  in  June,  1794,  Mr.  Clark 
retired  from  public  life  ;  and  early  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  he  died  of  inflammation  of  the  brain,  (caused  by  a 
coup  de  soliel,  or  "  stroke  of  the  sun,")  in  the  sixty-ninth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  in  the  church-yard,  at 
Rahway,  New  Jersey. 

Mr.  Clark  was  a  warm  partisan,  and  his  feelings  of  at 
tachment  or  repulsion  were  very  strong.  He  had  wit 
nessed  so  much  of  the  cruelty  and  oppressions  of  Great 
.Britain,  in  her  war  upon  the  declared  freedom"  of  the 
Colonies,  that  his  feelings  of  hatred  could  not  be  soothed 
by  the  treaty  of  peace,  although  he  patriotically  acquiesced 
in  whatever  tended  to  his  country's  good.  He  therefore 
took  sides  with  France  when  questions  concerning  her 
came  up  in  Congress  ;  and,  early  in  1794,  he  laid  before 
Congress  a  resolution  for  suspending  all  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain,  until  every  item  of  the  treaty  of  peace  should 
be  complied  with.  It  was  not  sanctioned  by  Congress. 

carcerated  in  the  Jersey  prisqn-ship,  and  suffered  all  the  horrors  of  that  confin» 
ment,  until  released  by  .afi.ua!  exchange  of  prisoners. 


OBERT  MORRIS,  the  distinguished  patriot 
and  financier  of  the  Revolution,  was  born 
in  Lancashire,  England,  in  January,  1733. 
His  father  was  a  Liverpool  merchant,  ex 
tensively  engaged  in  the  American  trade, 
and  when  Robert  was  but  a  small  child,  he 
left  him  in  the  care  of  his  grandmother, 
came  to  this  country,  and  settled  at  Oxford  on  the  east 
ern  shore  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  finally  sent  for  his 
family,  and  Robert  was  chirteen  years  old  when  he  arrived. 
He  was  placed  in  a  sc  ^ol  at  Philadelphia,  but  the  defi- 

93 


94  I  ENNSYLVANIA. 

ciencies  of  his  teacher  allowed  him  but  slight  advantage  in 
the  obtainment  of  knowledge.* 

Young  Morris  was  placed  in  the  counting  room  of  Mi- 
Charles  Willing,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Phila 
delphia,  when  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  and  about  the 
same  time  he  became  an  orphan  by  the  sudden  death  of 
his  father.t  He  was  greatly  esteemed  by  Mr.  Willing, 
who  gave  him  every  advantage  his  business  afforded  ;  and 
at  the  death  of  his  master  and  friend,  he  was  a  finished 
merchant.f 

In  1754,  Mr.  Morris  formed  a  mercantile  business  part 
nership  with  Mr.  Thomas  Willing.  The  firm  -soon  be 
came  the  most  extensive  importing-house  in  Philadelphia, 
and  rapidly  increased  in  wealth  and  standing.  After  the 
passage  of  the  Stamp  Act  and  the  Tea  Act,  and  non-im 
portation  agreements  became  general  in  the  commercial 
cities  of  the  colonies,§  Willing  and  Morris,  notwithstand 
ing  the  great  loss  of  business  it  would  occasion,  not  only 
cheerfully  entered  into  the  plan,  but  did  all  in  their  power 
to  induce  others  to  do  likewise.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
tragedy  at  Lexington  aroused  the  fiercest  indignation  of 
the  colonists,  and  extinguished  all  hope  of  reconciliation, 
that  Mr.  Morris  took  an  active  part  in  public  affairs. ||  That 

*  On  being  chid  by  his  father  for  his  tardiness  in  learning,  he  remarked : 
"Why,  sir,  I  have  learned  all  that  he  could  teach  me." 

t  A  ship  having  arrived  from  Liverpool,  consigned  to  Mr.  Morris  the  elder,  he 
invited  several  friends  to  an  entertainment  on  board.  When  they  retired,  a  salute 
was  tired,  and  a  wad  from  one  of  the  guns  hit  Mr.  Morris  upon  the  arm.  The 
wound  was  severe,  mortified,  and  in  a  few  days  terminated  his  life. 

{  As  an  evidence  of  the  general  good  conduct  of  Mr.  Morris,  it  is  related,  that 
Mr.  Willing,  on  his  death-bed,  said  to  him  :  "  Robert,  always  continue  to  act  as 
you  have  done." 

§  One  of  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Colonists  to  force  Great  Britain  to  do 
them  justice,  was  that  of  American  merchants  everywhere  agreeing  not  to  im 
port  anything  from  the  mother-country.  This  hud  a  powerful  effect  upon  Parlia 
ment  (for  in  the  lower  House  the  mercantile  interest  was  strongly  represented) 
and  led  to  the  modification  of  several  stringent  measures.  These  agreements,  of 
course,  seriously  affected  merchants  here,  and  therein  their  patriotism  was  made 
peculiarly  manifest. 

|j  It  is  said  that    Mr.   Morris,  and  a  number  of  others,  members  of  the   St. 


ROBERT  MORRIS.  95 

event  called  him  forth,  and  in   November  of  the  same 
year,0  he   was    elected   by    the   Legislature    of 
Pennsylvania,  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con 
gress.     His  business  talents  were  at  once  appreciated  in 
that  body,  and  he   was  placed  upon  the  "  secret  com 
mittee,"*  and  also  a  committee  to  devise  ways  and  means 
for  providing  a  naval  armament.     In  the  spring  of  1776, 
Congress  chose  him  a  special  commissioner  to  negotiate 
bills  of  exchange,  and  to  take  other  measures  to  procure 
money  for  the  Government. 

Mr.  Morris  was  again  elected  to  Congress  on  the  eigh 
teenth  of  July,  1776,  fourteen  days  after  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  adopted ;  and  being  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  he  affixed  his  signature  thereto  on  the  second  of 
August  following.  His  labors  in  Congress  were  inces 
sant,  and  he  always  looked  with  perfect  confidence  to  the 
period  when  peace  and  independence  should  crown  the 
efforts  of  the  patriots.  Even  when  the  American  army 
under  Washington,  had  dwindled  clown  to  a  handful  of 
half-naked,  half-famished  militia,  during  the  disastrous  re 
treat  across  New  Jersey  at  the  close  of  1776,  he  evinced 
his  confidence  that  final  success  would  ensue,  by  loaning 
at  that  time,  upon  his  individual  responsibility,  ten  thou 
sand  dollars.  This  materially  assisted  in  collecting  together 
and  paying  that  gallant  band  with  which  Washington  re- 
crossed  the  Delaware,  and  won  the  glorious  victory  at 

George's  Society,  were  at  dinner,  celebrating  the  anniversary  of  St.  George's  day, 
when  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached  them.  Astonishment  and  in 
dignation  tilled  the  company,  and  they  soon  dispersed.  A  few  remained  and  dis 
cussed  the  great  question  of  American  freedom :  and  there,  within  that  festive 
hall,  did  Robert  Morris  and  a  few  others,  by  a  solemn  vow,  dedicate  their  lives, 
their  fortunes,  and  their  honor,  to  the  sacred  cause  of  the  Revolution. 

*  The  duties  of  the  secret  committee  consisted  in  managing  the  financial  af 
fairs  of  the  government.  It  was  a  position  of  great  trust,  for  they  frequently  had 
funds  placed  in  their  hands  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  their  discretion  —  like 
the  "  secret  service  money"  of  the  present  day,  placed  in  the  hand?  of  the  Presi 
dent,  with  discretionary  powers,  it  being  inimical  to  the  general  good  to  take)  pui 
lie  action  upon  such  disbursors  snts. 


96  PENNSYLVANIA. 

Trenton.*  Many  instances  of  a  similar  nature  are  re 
lated,  where  the  high  character  of  Mr.  Morris  enabled 
him  to  procure  money  when  the  government  could  not, 
and  his  patriotism  never  faltered  in  inducing  him  to  apply 
it  to  the  public  benefit. 

In  1781,  the  darkest  period  of  the  war,  Mr.  Morris,  in 
connection  with  other  citizens,  organized  a  banking  insti 
tution  in  Philadelphia,  for  the  purpose  of  issuing  paper 
money  that  should  receive  the  public  confidence,  for  the 
government  bills  were  becoming  almost  worthless.  This 
scheme  had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  aid  it  rendered  to 
the  cause  was  incalculable.  During  that  year,  upon  the 
urgent  solicitation  of  Congress,  Mr.  Morris  accepted  the 
appointment  of  general  financial  agent  of  the  United 
States,  in  other  words,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  It 
was  a  service  which  no  other  man  in  the  country  seemed 
competent  to  perform,  and  that  Congress  well  knew.  His 
business  talent,  and  his  extensive  credit  at  home  and 
abroad,  were  brought  to  bear  in  this  vocation,  and  upon 
him  alone,  for  a  long  time,  rested  the  labor  of  supplying 
a  famished  and  naked  army  and  furnishing  other  neces 
sary  supplies  for  the  public  service.  Congress,  at  that 
time,  could  not  have  obtained  a  loan  of  one  thousand  dol 
lars,  yet  Robert  Morris  effected  loans  upon  his  own 
credit,  of  tens  of  thousands.  The  Bank  of  North  America 
was  put  in  successful  operation,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
these  patriotic  services  of  Robert  Morris  present  the  chief 

*  Wlien  Congress  fled  to  Baltimore,  on  the  approach  of  the  British  across  New 
Jersey,  Mr.  Morris,  after  removing  his  family  into  the  country,  returned  to,  and 
remained  in  Philadelphia.  Almost  in  despair,  Washington  wrote  to  him,  and  in 
formed  him  that  to  make  any  successful  movement  whatever,  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  must  be  had.  It  was  a  requirement  that  seemed  almost  impossible  to 
meet.  Mr.  Morris  left  his  counting-room  for  his  lodgings  in  utter  despondency.  On 
bis  way  he  met  a  wealthy  Quaker,  and  made  known  his  wants.  "  What  security 
can'st  thou  give  ?"  asked  he.  "  My  note  and  my  honor,"  promptly  replied  Mr. 
Morris.  The  Quaker  replied :  "  Robert,  thou  ehalt  have  it"  —  It  was  sett  » 
Washington,  the  Delaware  was  crossed,  and  victory  won  ! 


ROBERT  MORRIS.  97 

reason  why  the  Continental  army  was  not  at  that  time 
disbanded  by  its  own  act.  And  it  has  been  justly  re 
marked,  that :  "  If  it  were  not  demonstrable  by  official 
records,  posteiity  would  hardly  be  made  to  believe  that 
the  campaign  of  1781,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
Cornwallis,  and  virtually  closed  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  sustained  wholly  on  the  credit  of  an  individual  mer 
chant."* 

After  the  conclusion  of  peace,  Mr.  Morris  served  twice 
in  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  he  was  a  dele 
gate  to  the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  elected  a  Senator  under  that 
instrument,  and  took  his  seat  at  the  first  meeting  of  Con 
gress  in  New  York  to  organize  the  government  in  ac 
cordance  with  its  provisions. 

In  the  selection  of  his  cabinet,  President  Washington 
was  very  anxious  to  have  Mr.  Moms  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  but  he  declined.  Washington  asked  him  to 
name  a  candidate,  and  he  at  once  mentioned  General  Al 
exander  Hamilton. 

Mr.  Morris  served  a  regular  term  in  the  United  States 
Senate,  and  then  retired  forever  from  public  life.  By  his 
liberal  expenditures  and  free  proffers  of  his  private  ob 
ligations  for  the  public  benefit,  he  found  his  ample  for 
tune  very  much  diminished  at  the  close  of  hostilities  ;  and 
by  embarking  the  remainder  in  the  purchase  of  wild  lands, 

*  At  the  time  Washington  was  preparing,  in  his  camp  upon  the  Hudson,  in 
Westchester  county,  to  attack  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  New  York,  in  1781,  Mr. 
Morris  and  Judge  Peters  of  Pennsylvania  were  then  at  headquarters.  Wash 
ington  received  a  letter  from  Count  de  Grasse,  announcing  his  determination 
not  to  sail  for  New  York.  He  was  bitterly  disappointed,  but  almost  before  the 
cloud  had. passed  from  his  brow,  he  conceived  the  expedition  against  Corn 
wallis,  at  Yorktown.  "  What  can  you  do  for  me  ?"  said  Washington  to  Mr. 
Peters.  "  With  money,  everything,  without  it,  nothing,"  he  replied,  at  the  same 
time  turning  with  anxious  look  toward  Mr.  Morris.  "  Let  me  know  the  sum  you 
desire,"  said  Mr.  Morris  ;  and  before  noon  Washington's  plan  and  estimates  were 
complete.  Mr.  Morris  promised  him  the  amount,  and  he  raised  it  upon  his  own 
responsibility. 

5 


98  PENNSYLVANIA. 

in  the  S/ate  of  New  York,*  under  the  imj  -ession  that  emi- 
grants  from  the  old  world  would  flow  in  a  vast  and  cease 
less  current  to  this  "  land  of  the  free,"  he  became  greatly 
embarrassed  in  his  pecuniary  affairs,  and  it  preyed  seri 
ously  upon  his  mind.  This  misfortune,  and  the  inroads 
which  asthma  had  made  upon  his  constitution,  proved  a 
canker  at  the  root  of  his  bodily  vigor,  and  he  sunk  to  rest 
in  the  grave,  on  the  eighth  day  of  May,  1806,  in  the  sev 
enty-third  year  of  his  age,  leaving  a  widow  with  whom  he 
had  lived  in  uninterrupted  domestic  happiness  for  thirty- 
seven  years.t 

*  In  consequence  of  some  old  claims  of  Massachusetts  to  a  large  portion  of  the 
territory  of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  latter  State,  in  1786,  in  order  to  settle  the 
matter,  ceded  to  the  former  more  than  six  millions  of  acres,  reserving,  however, 
the  right  of  sovereignty.  Massachusetts  sold  the  larger  portion  of  this  tract  to 
Oliver  Phelps  and  Nathaniel  Gorham,  for  one  million  of  dollars  :  and  in  1790,  they 
in  turn  sold  to  Mr.  Morris  1,204,000  acres,  for  sixteen  cents  per  acre.  He  afterward 
resold  this  tract  to  Sir  William  Pultney.  The  original  purchasers  from  Massachu 
setts,  unable  to  fulfil  their  contract,  surrendered  to  the  State  a  large  tract,  to  which 
the  Indian  titles  had  been  extinguished.  This  tract  Mr.  Morris  bought  in  1796, 
and  after  selling  considerable  portions  lying  upon  the  Genesee  river,  he  mort 
gaged  the  residue  to  Wilhelm  Willink,  of  Amsterdam,  and  eleven  associates,  who 
Btyled  themselves  the  "Holland  Land  Company."  Mr.  Morris  was  unable  to 
meet  his  engagement,  and  the  company  foreclosed,  and  acquired  full  title  to  th« 
land.  They  opened  a  sales  office  in  Batavia,  Genesee  county,  which  now  exists  j 
and  they  still  own  large  tracts  of  land  in  Western  New  York. 

t  In  1769,  Mr.  Morris  married  Miss  Mary  White,  sister  of  the  ate  reaerel  I* 
Biehop  White,  of  Pennsylvania. 


/ 


OCTOR  BENJAMIN  RUSH  was  born  at  Ber 
berry,  about  twelve  miles  northeast  of  Phi 
ladelphia,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  De- 
'cember,  1745.  He  was  descended  from 
an  officer  of  that  name  in  Cromwell's  army, 
P5'  who,  after  the  death  of  the  Protector,  emi 
grated  to  America,  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  Benja, 
mm  was  his  grandson. 

99 


iOO  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  father  of  Benjamin  Rush  died  when  he  was  only 
six  years  old,  and  he  and  a  brother  were  left  entirely  to 
the  care  of  his  mother.  She  was  anxious  to  give  Benja 
min  a  classical  education,  but  the  earnings  from  her  small 
farm  did  not  supply  her  with  adequate  means.  Intent 
upon  her  purpose,  she  sold  her  land  and  moved  into  Phil 
adelphia,  where  she  commenced  some  commercial  pur 
suit.  She  was  successful ;  and  her  wish  to  give  her  eldest 
son  a  liberal  education,  was  gratified.  At  the  age  of 
nine  years  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Findlay,  who  was  the  principal  of  an  academy  at  Notting 
ham,  in  Maryland.  After  completing  his  preparatory 
studies,  young  Rush  entered  Princeton  College,** 
where  he  took  his  degree  in  1760,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years. 

The  study  of  the  law  was  the  voluntary  choice  of  young 
Rush,  but  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  Findlay,  he  selected  the 
practice  of  medicine  as  a  profession,  and  placed  himself 
under  the  direction  of  the  celebrated  Doctor  Redman,  of 
Philadelphia.  In  1766  he  went  to  England  with  the  view 
of  professional  improvement,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  attending  the  lectures  at  the  best  hospitals  and  med 
ical  schools  in  London.  In  the  summer  of  1768,  he  went 
to  Paris,  where  he  added  much  to  his  stock  of  knowl 
edge  ;  and  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  returned  to  Amer 
ica,  bearing  the  title  of  "  Doctor  of  Medicine,"  for  which 
a  diploma  was -conferred  at  Edinburgh. 

Doctor  Rush  commenced  practice  in  Philadelphia,  and 
before  the  first  year  of  his  professional  career  was  com 
pleted,  he  was  called  in  consultation  with  some  of  the 
most  eminent  practitioners  of  that  city.  His  polished 
manners,  superior  intellect,,  kind  deportment  in  the  sick 
room,  and  unwearied  attention  to  the  calls  of  the  poor 
made  him  very  popular,  and  he  soon  had  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice.  Students  from  all  parts  of  the 


BENJAMIN 


United  States,  after  the  war,  flocked  to  Philadelphia  to 
avail  themselves  of  his  lectures.* 

Doctor  Rush  espoused  the  patriot  cause  immediately 
after  his  return  to  America,  in  1768,  and  his  pen  proved 
a  powerful  instrument,  in  connection  with  his  personal  ex 
ertions,  in  arousing  the  people  to  action.  He  was  so 
licited  to  take  a  seat  in  the  General  Congress  of  1775, 
but  declined  ;  but  when,  in  1776,  some  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  delegates  in  Congress  refused  to  vote  for  Independ 
ence  and  withdrew  from  their  seats,  he  was  elected  to 
fill  one  of  them,  and  obeyed  the  call  of  duty  by  accepting 
it.  He  was  not  a  member  when  the  Declaration  was 
adopted,  but  was  present  and  signed  it  on  the  second  of 
August  following. 

In  1777,  Congress  appointed  Doctor  Rush  to  the  office 
of  physician-general  of  the  military  hospitals  of  the  middle 
department,  in  which  he  was  of  great  utility.  He  did  not 
serve  again  in  Congress  after  that  appointment  ;  in  fact, 
with  the  exception  of  being  a  member  of  the  Convention 
of  Pennsylvania,  which  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution, 
he  did  not  actively  participate  in  any  public  duties.  He 
was  appointed  president  of  the  mint  in  1788,  which  office 
he  held  fourteen  years. 

Although  the  services  of  Doctor  Rush  were  eminently 
useful  as  a  statesman,  yet  as  a  medical  practitioner  and 
writer,  he  was  most  distinguished  and  is  more  intimately 
known.  He  was  appointed  professor  of  chemistry  in  tha 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  in  1769,  the  year  after 
his  return,  from  Europe.  He  was  made  professor  of  the 
theory  and  practice  of  medicine  in  1789  ;  and  at  that  time 
he  also  held  the  professorship  of  the  Institutes  of  Medi- 

*  Students  came  even  from  Europe,  to  attend  his  lectures  ;  and  in  1812,  the 
year  before  he  dted,  those  in  the  class  who  attended  his  lectures,  amounted  to 
four  hundred  and  thirty.  Within  the  last  nine  years  of  his  life,  the  number  o* 
his  private  pupils  exceeded  fifty.  It  is  stated  by  his  biographer,  that  during  bU 
life  he  gave  instruction  to  more  than  two  thousand  pupiJs. 


^$2  ^PENNSYLVANIA. 

icine  and  of  Chemical  Science,  in  the  Medical  College  of 
Pennsylvania.  On  the  resignation  of  Doctor  Kuhn,  in 
1796,  he  succeeded  that  gentleman  in  the  professorship 
of  the  practice  of  medicine.  These  three  professorships 
he  held  during  his  life. 

Doctor  Rush's  eminent  qualities  as  a  medical  practi 
tioner,  a  philanthropist,  and  a  Christian,  were  fully  de 
veloped  when  the  yellow  fever  rapidly  depopulated  Phila 
delphia,  in  1793.  It  was  so  malignant,  that  all  the  usual 
remedies  failed,  and  the  best  medical  skill  was  completely 
foiled.  Many  physicians  became  alarmed  for  their  own 
safety  and  fled  from  the  city ;  but  Doctor  Rush,  and  a 
few  of  his  attached  pupils  and  friends,  remained  to  aid  the 
sick  and  dying,  and,  if  possible,  check  the  march  of  the 
destroyer.  He  at  length  had  a  severe  attack  of  the  fever, 
and  some  of  his  pupils  fell  victims  ;  but  so  long  as  he  was 
able  to  get  from  his  bed,  he  did  not  remit  his  labors.* 

The  impress  of  Dr.  Rush's  mind  and  energy  is  upon 
several  public  institutions.  He  formed  the  Philadelphia 
Dispensary  in  1786,  and  he  was  one  of  the  principal 
founders  of  Dickerson  College,  at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania. 
In  addition  to  honorary  membership  in  many  literary  and 
scientific  societies  abroad,  he  held  various  offices  in  be 
nevolent  and  philosophical  institutions  at  home.t 

*  When  alarm  seized  upon  many  of  the  resident  physicians  of  Philadelphia,  and 
they  fled  from  the  danger,  Doctor  Rush  called  together  some  of  his  pupils  and 
professional  friend.*,  and  in  an  impressive  manner  laid  before  them  their  sole'tin 
responsibilities  to  their  profession  and  to  the  public.  He  portrayed  the  effects 
upon  the  public  mind  which  the  flight  of  physicians  would  produce  —  predisposing 
the  system,  through  fear,  to  take  the  disease  —  and  he  conjured  them  to  remain. 
He  concluded  his  earnest  appeal,  by  saying  :  "  As  for  myself,  I  am  determined  to 
remain.  I  may  fall  a  victim  to  the  epidemic,  and  so  may  you,  gentlemen.  But  I 
prefer,  since  I  am  placed  here  by  Divine  Providence,  to  fall  in  performing  my 
duty,  if  such  must  be  the  consequence  of  staying  upon  the  ground,  than  to  secure 
my  life  by  fleeing  from  the  post  of  duty  allotted  in  the  Providence  of  God. 
I  will  remain,  if  I  remain  alone."  He  and  a  few  of  his  noble-hearted  pupils  re 
mained  and  performed  their  duty  faithfully.  His  written  description  of  that  dread 
ful  epidemic.,  is  one  of  the  most  thrilling  pieces  of  composition  in  our  language. 

t  Among  others,  he  was  President  of  the  American  Society  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery ;  President  of  the  Philadelphia  Medical  Society ;  Vice  President  of  tha 


BENJAMIN    RUSH.  103 

As  a  patriot,  Doctor  Rush  was  firm  and  inflexible ;  aa 
a  professional  man  he  was  skilful,  candid,  and  honorable  ; 
as  a  thinker  and  writer,  he  was  profound  ;  as  a  Christian, 
zealous  and  consistent ;  and  in  his  domestic  relations,  he 
was  the  centre  of  a  circle  of  love  and  true  affection. 
Through  life  the  Bible  was  a  "  lamp  to  his  feet" — his 
guide  in  all  things  appertaining  to  his  duty  toward  God 
and  man.  Amid  all  his  close  and  arduous  pursuit  of  hu 
man  knowledge,  he  never  neglected  to  "  search  the  Scrip 
tures"  for  that  knowledge  which  points  the  soul  aright  in 
its  journey  to  the  Spirit  Land.  His  belief  in  revealed  re 
ligion,  and  in  the  Divine  inspiration  of  the  Sacred  "Wri 
ters,  is  manifested  in  many  of  his  scientific  productions  ; 
and  during  that  period,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century 
when  the  sentiments  of  infidel  France  were  infused  into 
the  minds  of  men  in  high  places  here,  Doctor  Rush's 
principles  stood  firm,  and  his  opinions  never  wavered. 

The  life  of  this  truly  great  man  terminated  on  the  nine 
teenth  day  of  April,  1813,  when  he  was  in  the  sixty-eighth 
year  of  his  age.  During  his  last  illness,  the  public  mind 
was  greatly  affected,  and  his  house  was  constantly  thronged 
with  people  inquiring  concerning  the  probable  result  of 
the  disease  that  was  upon  him.  When  death  closed  his 
eyes,  every  citizen  felt  that  a  dear  friend  had  been  taken 
away,  and  a  general  gloom  overspread  the  community. 

Philadelphia  Bible  Society ;  one  of  the  Vice  Presidents  of  the  American  Phtto 
«ophical  Society,  <fcc.,  &c. 


ROBABLY  a  greater  man  than  BENJA 
MIN  FRANKLIN  never  lived,  regarded 
with  that  analytical  discrimination  which 
distinguishes  true  greatness  in  inherent 
qualities  rather  than  in  brilliant  exter 
nal  displays  ;  and  in  almost  every  par 
ticular  characteristic  of  a  man,  he  presented  a  model  of 


excellence  of  the  highest  standard. 


104 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN.  105 

Benjamin  Franklin  was  bom  in  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  January,  1706.  His  father  was 
a  true  Puritan,  and  emigrated  hither  from  England,  in 
1682.  He  soon  afterward  married  Miss  Folger,  a  native 
of  Boston.  Being  neither  a  mechanic  nor  farmer,  he 
tumed  his  attention  to  the  business  of  a  soap-boiler  and 
tallow-chandler,  which  was  his  occupation  for  life. 

The  parents  of  Benjamin  wished  him  to  be  a  minister 
of  the  gospel,  and  they  began  to  educate  him  with  that  end 
in  view,  but  their  slender  mecns  were  not  adequate  for 
the  object,  and  the  intention  was  abandoned.  He  was 
kept  at  a  common  school  for  a  few  years,  and  then  taken 
into  the  service  of  his  father.  The  business  did  not  please 
the  boy,  and  he  was  entered,  on  probation,  with  a  cutler. 
The  fee  for  his  admission  to  apprenticeship  was  too  high,* 
and  he  abandoned  that  pursuit  also,  and  was  put  undei 
the  instruction  of  an  elder  brother,  who  was  a  printer. 
There  he  continued  until  he  became  quite  proficient,  and 
all  the  while  he  was  remarkable  for  his  studiousness,  sel 
dom  spending  an  hour  from  his  books,  in  idle  amuse 
ment.  At  length  the  harmony  between  himself  and  brother 
was  interrupted,  and  he  left  his  service  and  went  on  board 
of  a  vessel  in  the  harbor,  bound  for  New  York.  Tn  that  city 
he  could  not  obtain  employment,  arid  he  proceeded  on 
foot  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  arrived  on  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing.f  He  was  then  but  seventeen  years  old,  friendless 
and  alone,  with  but  a  single  dollar  in  his  pocket.  He 
soon  found  employment  as  compositor  in  one  of  the  two 

*  At  that  time,  as  in  England  at  the  present  day,  apprentices,  instead  of  receiv 
ing  any  pay  for  their  services,  were  obliged  to  pay  a  bonus,  or  fee,  for  the  privi 
lege  of  becoming  an  apprentice. 

*  It  is  said  that  his  first  appearance  in  Philadelphia  attracted  considerable  atten 
tion  in  the  streets.    With  his  spare  clothing  in  his  pocket,  and  a  loaf  of  bread 
under  each  arm,  he  wandered  about  until  he  came  to  a  Quaker  meeting,  where 
he  entered,  sat  down,  w  mt  to  sleep,  and  slept  soundly  until  worship  was  closed. 
He  was  then  awakene*    by  one  of  the  congregation,  and  he  sought  aome  other 
place  of  rest. 

5* 


106  PENNSYLVANIA. 

printing  establishments  then  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  at 
once  noticed  and  esteemed  by  his  employers,  for  his  in 
dustry  and  studious  habits. 

Having  written  a  letter  to  a  friend  at  New  Castle,  in 
Delaware,  in  which  he  gave  a  graphic  account  of  his  jour 
ney  from  Boston  to  Philadelphia,  which  letter  was  shown 
to  Governor  Keith,  of  that  province,  that  functionary  be 
came  much  interested  in  the  young  journeyman  printer, 
and  invited  him  to  his  mansion.  Friendship  succeeded 
the  first  interview,  and  the  governor  advised  him  to  set 
up  business  for  himself,  and  offered  his  patronage.  The 
plan  of  operation  was  rather  an  extensive  one,  and  in 
volved  the  necessity  of  making  a  voyage  to  England  for 
materials.  Franklin  went  to  London,  but  found  Sir  Wil 
liam  Keith's  patronage  of  so  little  avail,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  seek  employment  for  his  daily  bread.  He  obtained  a 
situation  as  journeyman  printer  in  one  of  the  principal 
offices  there,  and  by  the  same  line  of  industry,  studious- 
ness,  punctuality,  and  frugality,  he  soon  won  to  himself 
numerous  friends.*  Unfortunately  lie  was  thrown  in  the 
way  of  some  distinguished  infidels  while  he  was  in  Lon 
don,  (among  whom  was  Lord  Mandeville,)  and  received 
flattering  attentions  from  them.  His  mind  became  tinc 
tured  with  their  views,  and  he  was  induced  to  write  a 
pamphlet  upon  deistical  metaphysics,  a  performance  which 
he  afterward  regretted,  and  candidly  condemned. 

With  the  fruits  of  his  earnings  Franklin  resolved  to  take 
a  trip  to  the  Continent,  but  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of 
departure,  he  received  an  offer  from  a  mercantile  friend 
about  to  sail  for  America,  to  accompany  him  as  a  clerk. 
He  accepted  it,  and  embarked  for  home  in  July,  1726. 

With  his  new  employer,  at  Philadelphia,  Franklin  had 
before  him  a  prospect  of  prosperity  and  wealth,  but  soon 

*  We  have  seen  the  identical  Printing  Press  which  was  worked  by  Frank] i* 
when  in  London,  It  is  now  in  the  National  Museum  at  Washington  «ity. 


BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN.  107 

a  heavy  cloud  obscured  the  bright  vision.  His  friend 
died,  arid  once  more  Franklin  became  a  journeyman 
printer  with  his  old  employer.  In  a  short  time  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  another  printer,  and  commenced  busi 
ness  in  Philadelphia,  where  his  character,  habits,  and  tal 
ents,  soon  gained  him  warm  friends,  public  confidence, 
and  a  successful  business.*  So  multifarious  were  the  pub 
lic  and  private  labors  of  usefulness  of  this  great  man,  from 
this  period  until  his  death,  that  our  circumscribed  limits 
will  permit  us  to  notice  them  only  in  brief  chronological 
order. 

In  1732,  Franklin  began  his  useful  annual,  called  "  Poor 
Richard's  Almanac."  It  was  widely  circulated  in  the 
Colonies,  and  in  England,  and  was  translated  into  several 
Continental  languages  of  Europe.  It  continued  until 
1757.  About  the  same  time  he  commenced  a  newspaper, 
which  soon  became  the  most  popular  one  in  the  Colonies. 
By  constant,  persevering  study,  he  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  Latin,  French,  Spanish,  and  Italian  languages.  He 
projected  a  literary  club,  called  the  Junto,  and  the  books 
which  they  collected  for  their  use,  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  present  extensive  Philadelphia  Library.  He  wrote 
many  pamphlets  containing  essays  upon  popular  subjects, 
which  were  read  with  avidity,  and  made  him  very  popu 
lar.  With  his  popularity,  his  business  increased,  and  his 
pecuniary  circumstances  became  easy  in  a  few  years. 

In  1734,  he  was  appointed  government  printer  for 
Pennsylvania,  and  in  1736  he  received  the  appointment 
of  Clerk  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  next  year  he 
was  made  postmaster  of  Philadelphia.  The  income  aris 
ing  from  these  offices,  and  from  his  business,  relieved  him 
from  constant  drudgery,  and  left  him  leisure  for  philo- 

*  In  1730,  he  married  a  young  widow  lady,  whose  maiden  name  was  Read.  Ho 
had  sought  her  hand  before  going  to  England,  but  she  gave  it  to  another.  Her 
husband  died  while  Fracklin  was  absent,  and  their  intimacy  was  renewed  serai 
after  his  return. 


108  PENNSYLVANIA. 

gophical  pursuits,  and  the  advancement  of  schemes  for  the 
public  good.* 

In  1741,  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  "Gen 
eral  Magazine  and  Historical  Chronicle,  for  the  Brinsn 
Plantations,"  which  had  a  wide  circulation.  In  1744  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,!  and 
was  annually  re-elected,  for  ten  consecutive  years.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  he  made  some  of  his  philosophi 
cal  discoveries,  upon  the  mysterious  wings  of  which  his 
fame  spread  world- wide. | 

In  1753  he  was  appointed  a  commissioner  to  treat  with 
the  Indians  at  Carlisle.  In  1754,  he  was  a  delegate  from 
Pennsylvania  to  a  Convention  of  representatives  of  the 
Colonies  that  met  at  Albany  to  consult  upon  the  general 
defence  and  security  against  the  French.  He  there  pro 
posed  an  admirable  plan  of  union. §  About  this  time  he 
was  appointed  deputy  Postmaster  General.  He  was  also 
active  in  improving  the  military  affairs  of  the  colony,  and 
rendered  General  Braddock  distinguished  service  in  pro 
viding  material  for  his  expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

*  He  organized  fire  companies  in  Philadelphia,  the  first  on  the  Continent,  and  he 
devised  means  for  paving  the  streets  and  lighting  the  city  with  gas.  All  military  dis 
cipline  in  the  Province  had  become  entirely  neglected,  but  Franklin  saw  the  utility 
of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  tactics,  and  he  applied  himself  to  the  task  of  instruc 
tion.  He  projected  the  "  American  Philosophical  Society,"  the  "  Pennsylvania 
Hospital,"  and  the  "Pennsylvania  University."  In  1742,  he  published  a  treatise 
on  the  improvement  of  chimneys,  and  invented  the  celebrated  stove  which  bears 
his  name.  This  invention  he  gave  to  the  public. 

t  He  had  previously  held  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  an  Alderman  ot 
the  city. 

J  His  attention  was  powerfully  drawn  to  the  subject  of  electricity,  in  conse 
quence  of  some  experiments  which  had  been  exhibited  by  Europeans  in  Boston  ; 
and  he  not  only  repeated  them  all  with  success,  but  he  was  led  to  such  investiga 
tions  of  the  nature  and  etfects  of  electricity,  as  to  discover  many  astounding  truths 
guch  as  the  identity  of  lightning  and  the  electrical  spark  of  a  machine. 

§  This  plan  for  a  confederation  of  the  several  Colonies,  contained  all  the  essen 
tial  features  of  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  exhibited  the 
powers  of  a  great  mind.  But  it  had  the  singular  fortune  to  be  rejected,  both  by 
the  home  government  and  by  the  Colonies ;  the  former  contending  that  it  had  to«» 
much  democracy  in  it,  and  the  latter,  that  it  had  too  much  prerogatwt  in  it- 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  101 

In  1757,  Franklin  was  sent  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Province,  to  London,  as  its  counsel  in  a  dispute  with 
the  governor;  and  he  so  managed  the  case  as  to  ob 
tain  a  verdict  for  the  Assembly.  He  remained  a  resident 
agent  for  the  Colony,  in  England,  for  five  years,  and 
formed  many  valuable  acquaintances  while  there.  On  his 
return,  he  was  publicly  thanked  by  the  General  Assem 
bly,  and  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  presented 
to  him  as  compensation  for  his  important  services. 

In  1764,  he  was  again  sent  to  England  as  agent  for  the 
Colony,  upon  business  similar  to  that  for  which  he  was 
first  sent,  and  he  was  there  when  the  Stamp  Act  was 
passed,  loudly  and  boldly  protesting  against  it.  His  opin 
ions  had  great  weight  there  ;  and,  having  been  appointed 
agent  for  several  of  the  Colonies,  the  eyes  of  statesmen  at 
home  and  abroad  were  turned  anxiously  to  him,  as  the 
storm  of  the  Revolution  rapidly  gathered  in  dark  and 
threatening  clouds.  He  labored  assiduously  to  effect  con 
ciliation,  and  he  did  much  to  arrest  for  a  long  time  the 
blow  that  finally  severed  the  Colonies  from  the  mother 
country.  Satisfied  at  length  that  war  was  inevitable,  he 
returned  home  in  1775,  and  was  at  once  elected  a  dele 
gate  to  the  General  Congress.  He  was  again  elected  in 
1776,  and  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draft  a 
Declaration  of  Independence,  voted  for  its  adoption,  and 
signed  it  on  the  second  of  August. 

In  September"  Franklin  was  appointed  one  of 

_        ,     _  .  a  1776. 

three  commissioners  to  meet  Lord  Howe  in  con 
ference   on  Staten  Island,  and  hear  his  propositions  for 
peace.     The  attempt  at  conciliation  proved  abortive,  and 
hostilities  commenced.*  About  this  time  a  Convention  was 

*  Franklin  had  formed  a  personal  acquaintance  with  Lord  Howe,  in  England. 
At  the  conference  in  question,  when  his  lordship  expressed  his  kind  feelings  to 
ward  the  Americans,  and  his  regret  that  they  would  not  share  in  the  protection  of 
British  power,  Doct.  Franklin  told  him  plainly  that  he  need  not  gire  himself  any 
trouble  on  their  account  as  the  Americana  were  fully  able  to  take  care  of  themselve* 


110  PENNSYLVANIA. 

called  in  Pennsylvania,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  State 
government,  according  to  the  recommendation  of  the  Gen 
eral  Congress.  Franklin  was  chosen  its  President,  and  his 
wisdom  was  manifested  in  the  Constitution  which  followed. 
He  was  appointed  by  Congress  a  Commissioner  to  the 
Court  of  France,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  alliance.  Al 
though  then  over  seventy  years  of  age,  he  accepted  the 
appointment,  and  sailed  in  October,  1776.  He  was  re 
ceived  with  distinguished  honors,  and  strong  expressions 
of  sympathy  in  behalf  of  his  country  were  made;  yet  the 
French  ministry  were  so  cautious,  that  it  was  not  until  af- 
a  Oct  ter  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Burgoyne*  reached 
1777'  them,  and  American  affairs  looked  brighter,  that 
they  would  enter  into  a  formal  negotiation.  A  treaty 
was  finally  concluded,  and  was  signed  by  Franklin  and 
the  French  Minister,  in  February,  1778.  America  was 
acknowledged  independent,  and  the  French  government 
openly  espoused  her  cause.  Franklin  was  invested  by 
Congress  with  almost  unlimited  discretionary  powers,  and 
his  duties  were  very  arduous  and  complex ;  yet  he  dis 
charged  them  with  a  fidelity  and  skill  which  excited  the 
admiration  of  Europe.  Great  Britain  at  length  yielded, 
and  consented  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  upon  the 
basis  of  American  independence  ;  and  on  the  third  day 
of  September,  1783,  Doctor  Franklin  had  the  pleasure  of 
signing  a  definitive  treaty  to  that  effect.* 

Franklin  now  asked  leave  of  Congress  to  return  home 
to  his  family ,t  but  he  was  detained  there  until  the  arrival 

*  It  was  on  this  occasion,  that  Doctor  Franklin  again  put  on  a  euit  of  clothe 
which  ten  years  before,  on  the  occasion  of  his  being  insulted  before  the  English 
Privy  Council,  he  declared  he  would  never  wear  again  until  he  had  "  signed 
England's  degradation  and  America's  independence." 

t  Doctor  Franklin  had  two  children,  a  son  and  daughter.  The  former  was  a 
royal  governor  of  New  Jersey  before  the  Revolution,  and  adhering  to  the  govern 
ment,  he  went  to  England,  where  he  died.  His  daughter  married  Mr.  Bache,  ol 
Philadelphia,  whose  descendants  are  among  the  first  families  of  that  city  at  th« 
present  time. 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  Ill 

of  Mr.  Jefferson,  his  successor,  in  1785.  His  return  tc 
America  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  joy 
and  respect,  not  only  from  the  most  distinguished  individ 
uals,  but  from  nearly  every  public  body  in  the  country. 
Notwithstanding  his  great  age  (eighty  years)  the  public 
claimed  his  services,  and  he  was  appointed  President  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  office  he  held  three  years.  In 
1787,  he  was  in  the  Convention  which  framed  the  pres 
ent  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  this  was  the 
last  public  duty  he  performed.  The  gout  and  stone,  with 
which  he  had  been  afflicted  many  years,  terminated  his 
life  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  April,  1790,  in  the  eighty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age.  A  vast  concourse  of  people  fol 
lowed  his  body  to  the  grave,  and  the  whole  country,  nay 
the  whole  civilized  world,  mourned  his  loss.* 

*  Congress  directed  a  universal  mourning  throughout  the  United  States  for 
thirty  days.  In  France,  and  indeed  throughout  Europe,  the  news  of  his  death 
was  received  with  profound  grief.  In  the  National  Assembly  of  France,  the  elo 
quent  Mirabeau  announced  his  death,  and  in  a  brief  but  brilliant  eulogium,  he 
used  these  words  :  "  Franklin  is  dead  1"  [a  profound  silence  reigned  throughout 
the  hall.]  "  The  genius  which  gave  freedom  to  America,  and  scattered  torrents 
of  light  upon  Europe,  is  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  Divinity !  The  sage, 
whom  two  worlds  claim ;  the  man  disputed  by  the  history  of  the  sciences,  and 
the  history  of  empires,  holds,  most  undoubtedly,  an  elevated  rank  among  the  hu 
man  species.  Political  cabinets  have  too  long  notified  the  death  of  those  who  were 
never  great  but  in  their  funeral  orations;  the  etiquette  of  courts  have  but  toolong 
sanctioned  hypocritical  grief.  Nations  ought  only  to  mourn  for  their  benefactors ; 
the  representatives  of  freemen  ought  never  to  recommend  any  other  than  the  he 
roes  of  humanity  to  their  homage.  *  * 

"  Antiquity  would  have  elevated  altars  to  that  mortal,  who,  for  the  advantage  of 
the  human  race,  embracing  both  heaven  and  earth  in  his  vast  and  extensive  mind, 
knew  how  to  subdue  thunder  and  tyranny  Enlightened  and  free  Europe  at  least 
owes  its  rememorance  and  its  regrets,  to  one  of  the  greatest  men  who  has  evei 
served  the  cause  of  philosophy  and  of  liberty. '  The  Deputies  adopted  a  resolu 
tion  to  wear  mourning  for  thros  days. 


OHN  MORTON  descended  from  ancestors 
of  Swedish  birth,  who  emigrated  to  Amer 
ica  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  settled  upon  the  Delaware 
River,  not  far  below  Philadelphia.  He 
was  the  only  child  of  his  father,  who  died 
before  his  son  was  born,  which  event  occurred  in  the  year 
1724.  His  mother,  who  was  quite  young,  afterward  mar 
ried  an  English  gentleman,  who  became  greatly  attached 
to  his  infant  fcharge.  Being  highly  educated,  and  a  good 
practical  surveyor,  he  instructed  young  Morton  in  mathe 
matics,  as  well  as  in  all  the  common  branches  of  a  good 
education.  His  mind  was  of  unusual  strength,  and  at  an 
early  age  it  exhibited  traits  of  sound  maturity. 

Mr.  Morton  first  accepted  official  station,  in  17G4,  when 
he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  under  the  Provin 
cial  government  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  soon  after 
ward  chosen  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  that 
Province,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  Speaker  of  the 
House.  So  highly  were  his  public  services  appreciated, 
that  the  people  were  loath  to  dispense  with  them. 

He  was  a  delegate  to  the  "Stamp  Act  Congress,"  in 
1765;  and  in  1766,  he  was  made  high  sheriff  of  the 
county  in  which  he  resided.  He  warmly  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  patriots,  and  on  that  account,  when,  after  the 
Lexington  tragedy,  military  corps  were  formed  in  Penn 
sylvania,  he  was  offered  the  command  of  cne.  This  he 
declined,  on  account  of  other  engagements,  for  he  then 
held  the  office  of  presiding  Judge  of  the  Quarter  Ses 
sions  and  Common  Pleas,  and  about  the  same  time  he 

112 


JOHN  MORTON.  113 

was  elevated  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
Province. 

In  1774,  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  appointed  Mr, 
Morton  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress.  He  was  :e- 
elected  for  1775  in  December  of  the  same  year,  and  he 
was  also  elected  in  1776  to  the  same  office.  His  elec 
tion  did  not  take  place  until  some  days  after  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  was  adopted,  but  he  had  the  privi 
lege  of  signing  it  in  August.*  He  was  very  active  while 
in  Congress,  and  the  committee  duties  which  he  performd, 
were  many  and  arduous.  Among  other  committees  on 
which  he  served,  he  formed  one  of  that  which  reported 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  for  the  States,  which  were 
adopted,  arid  remained  the  organic  law  of  the  nation 
until  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution  in  1787. 

Mr.  Morton  did  not  live  to  see  the  blessings  of  peace 
and  independence  descend  upon  his  country.  He  died  in 
April,  1777,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  leaving  a 
widow  and  a  large  family  of  children.  His  death  was  a 
great  public  calamity,  for  men  of  his  genius  and  patriot 
ism  were  much  needed  at  that  time.  His  career  pre 
sented  another  instance  of  the  triumph  of  virtue  and  sound 
principles,  in  rising  from  obscurity  to  exalted  station. 

*  By  virtue  of  his  previous  election,  Mr.  Morton  was  in  his  seat  on  the  memora 
ble  fourth  of  July,  1776.  The  delegation  from  Pennsylvania  then  present  were 
equally  divided  in  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  independence,  and  Mr.  Morton  was 
called  upon  officially  to  (jive  a  casting  vote  for  that  State.  This  was  a  solemn  respon 
sibility  thrown  upon  him  —  it  was  for  him  to  decide  whether  there  should  be  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  Colonies  for  independence  —  whether  Pennsylvania  should 
form  one  of  the  American  Union.  But  he  firmly  met  the  responsibility,  and  voted 
YES  ;  and  from  that  moment  the  United  Colonies  were  declared  Independent 
States.  We  have  said  the  delegation  from  Pennsylvania  were  divided.  It  was 
thus  :  Morris  and  Dickenson  were  absent,  and  Franklin  and  Wilson  wer^  in  fa 
vor  of,  and  Willing  and  Humphrey  were  opposed  to,  the  Declaration  ;  an  1  Mori:  a 
gave  the  casting  vote. 


EORGE  CLYMER  was  born  in  Philadel 
phia,  in  the  year  1739.  His  father  was 
frooi  Bristol,  England,  and  died  when 
George  was  only -seven  years  old.  His 
wife  died  before  him  and  George  was 
'left  an  orphan.  "William  Coleman,  his 
mother's  brother,  a  wealthy  and  highly-esteemed  citizen 
of  Philadelphia,  took  George  into  his  family,  and  in  his 
education,  and  all  other  things,  he  treated  him  as  a  son. 
Having  completed  a  thorough  English  education,  hv3  was 

114 


GEORGE   CLY3VIER.  113 

taken  into  the  counting-room  of  his  uncle,  and  prepared 
for  commercial  life. 

Mr.  Clymer  was  not  partial  to  a  mercantile  business,  for 
he  deemed  it  a  pathway  beset  with  many  snares  for  the 
feet  of  pure  morality,  as  sudden  gains  and  losses  were 
apt  to  affect  the  character  of  the  most  stable.  For  him 
self  he  preferred  literature  and  science,  and  his  mind  was 
much  occupied  with  these  subjects. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years  he  mariied  a  Miss 
Meredith,  and  entered  into  mercantile  business  with  his 
father-in-law,  and  his  son,  under  the  firm  of  Meredith  and 
Sons.  His  uncle  died  about  the  same  time,  and  left  the 
principal  part  of  his  large  fortune  to  Mr.  Clymer.  -  Still 
he  continued  in  business  with  his  father-in-law,  until  his 
death;  and  with  his  brother-in-law  afterward,  until  1782. 

Even  before  his  mam  age,  when  none  but  old  commer 
cial  grievances  were  complained  of  by  the  Colonies,  Mr. 
Clymer  expressed  decided  republican-  principles  ;  and 
when  the  Stamp  Act  aroused  the  resistance  of  the  Ameri 
can  people,  he  was  among  the  most  ardent  defenders  of 
the  republican  cause.  He  was  a  zealous  actor  in  all  the 
public  meetings  in  Philadelphia;  and  when,  in  1774, 
military  organizations  took  place  preparatory  to  a  final 
resort  to  arms,  which  seemed  inevitable,  Mr.  Clymer  ac 
cepted  the  command  of  a  volunteer  corps  belonging  to 
General  Cadwallader's  brigade. 

When  the  oppressions  which  Boston  experienced  at 
the  hands  of  British  power,  after  the  "Tea  Riot,"* 

*  When  the  British  ministry  became  convinced  that  the  Americans  would 
ttever  submit  to  be  taxed  without  their  consent,  they  repealed  several  acts  which 
vrere  most  obnoxious  to  the  Colonies,  but  retained  a  duty  upon  tea.  This,  it  was 
well  understood  in  Parliament,  was  intended  merely  as  a  salvo  for  British  honor, 
for  the  government  had  declared  its  right  to  tax  the  Colonies  ;  and  it  was  urged, 
that  if  it  should,  because  of  the  opposition  of  the  Americans,  relinquish  that  right, 
it  would  be  a  virtual  abdication  of  government  in  the  Colonies.  On  the  other 
hand,  although  the  duty  was  but  little  more  than  nominal,  the  Americans  saw  in 
voked  in  it  a  principls  they  could  not  sacrifice,  and  therefore  they  manfully  re 


116  PENNSYLVANIA. 

aroused  the  strong  sympathy  of  the  people  of  the  com 
mercial  cities,  Mr.  Clymer  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a 
large  and  responsible  Committee  of  Vigilance  in  Phila 
delphia,  to  act  as  circumstances  should  require.  He  was 
also  placed  upon  the  first  Council  of  Safety  that  was  or 
ganized  in  Philadelphia;  and  early  in  1775,  he  was  ap 
pointed  by  Congress  one  of  the  Continental  treasurers. 

In  1776,  after  two  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegates  in  the 
General  Congress  declined  voting  for  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  withdrew  from  their  seats,  Mr.  Cly 
mer  and  Dr.  Rush  were  appointed  to  succeed  them,  and 
they  both  joyfully  affixed  their  signatures  to  that  instru 
ment.  Mr.  Clymer  was  soon  afterward  appointed  one  of 
a  committee  to  visit  the  northern  army  at  Ticonderoga  ; 
and  when  the  British  approached  Philadelphia  at  the  close 
of  1776,  and  Congress  retired  to  Baltimore,  he  was  put 
upon  a  committee  with  Robert  Morris  and  others,  to  re 
main  as  a  Committee  of  Vigilance  in  that  city.  He  was 
again  elected  to  Congress  in  1779,  and  was  one  of  a  com 
mittee  sent  by  that  body  to  Washington's  head-quarters  at 
Valley  Forge,  to  inquire  into  the  alleged  abuses  of  the 
commissary  department. 

Mr.  Clymer  was  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  British,* 
an  evidence  of  his  patriotic  zeal  and  unwavering  attach 
ment  to  the  Republican  cause.  While  the  enemy  were 
in  possession  of  Philadelphia  in  the  winter  of  1778,  they 
surrounded  a  house  which  they  thought  was  Mr.  Clymer's, 

eisted  the  exercise  of  the  assumed  right.  The  duty  being  so  light,  the  East 
Indian  Company  believing  the  Colonists  would  not  complain,  at  once  s^tx  large 
cargoes  of  tea  to  America.  In  Boston  the  people  would  not  allow  it  to  be  landed, 
and  ordered  the  vessel  out  of  port.  Refusing  to  comply,  a  party  (some  disguised 
as  Indians)  went  on  board  on  the  night  of  the  sixteenth  of  December,  1773,  and 
broke  open,  and  cast  into  the  harbor,  more  than  three  hundred  cheats  of  tea. 

*  After  the  defeat  of  the  Americans  at  the  Brandywine,  and  the  British  were 
marching  triumphantly  toward  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Clymer  moved  his  family  into 
the  country  for  safety.  But  their  retreat  was  discovered,  and  the  British  soldiers 
sacked  the  house,  destroyed  the  furniture,  and  wasted  every  sort  of  property 
which  they  could  find. 


GECUGE   CLYMER.  117 

with  the  intention  of  demolishing  it,  but  they  discovered 
it  to  belong  to  a  relative  of  his  of  the  same  name,  and 
they  spared  the  edifice. 

In  1778, -Mr.  CJymer  was  sent  by  Congress  to  Pitts 
burgh  to  endeavor  by  negotiation  to  quiet  the  savages, 
wha,  influenced  by  British  emissaries,  were  committing 
dreadful  ravages  on  the  frontier.  In  this  he  was  success 
ful,  and  for  his  arduous  services  he  received  the  thanks  of 
Congress.  In  the  autumn  of  1780  he  was  elected  to  Con 
gress  for  the  third  time,  and  he  continued  an  attentive  and 
active  member  until  1782.  During  that  year,  he  joined 
with  Robert  Morris  and  others  in  the  establishment  of  a 
bank  in  Philadelphia,  designed  for  the  public  good.  Mr. 
Clymer  was  a  considerable  subscriber,  and  was  made  one 
of  its  first  directors.* 

In  1782,  Mr.  Clymer  and  Edward  Rutledge  were  ap 
pointed  by  Congress  to  visit  the  Southern  States,  and  urge 
the  necessity  of  a  prompt  contribution  of  their  assessed 
quota  of  funds  for  the  public  Treasury.  The  individual 
States  were  slow  to  respond  to  the  calls  of  Congress,  and 
this  tardiness  very  much  embarrassed  the  operations  of 
government.  On  his  return,  Mr.  Clymer  moved  his  family 
to  Princeton,  for  the  purpose  of  having  his  children  edu 
cated  there.  Public  interest  soon  called  him  back  to  Penn 
sylvania,  and  he  took  a  seat  in  its  Legislature.  It  was  while 
he  was  a  member  of  that  body,  that  the  criminal  code  of 
that  State  was  modified,  and  the  penitentiary  system  in 
troduced.  It  is  conceded  that  the  credit  of  maturing  this 
wiser  system  of  punishment,  is  chiefly  due  to  Mr.  Cly 
mer,  and  for  this  alone  he  is  entitled  to  tho  veneration  due 
to  a  public  benefactor. 

Mr.  Clymer   was   a  member  of  the   Convention  that 

*  Two  years  before,  he,  with  Mr.  Morris  and  others,  established  a  private  bank, 
which  was  designed  for  the  public  good,  and  was  of  great  utility.  The  banfe  e» 
tablished  in  1782  was  of  a  national  character. 


118  PENNSYLVANIA. 

framed  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  was  elected  one  of 
the  first  members  of  Congress,  convened  under  that  instru 
ment.  He  declined  a  re-election,  and  was  appointed,  by 
President  Washington,  supervisor  of  the  revenue  for  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  This  was  an  office  in  which  great 
firmness  and  decision  of  character  were  requisite,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  the  collection  of 
revenue  which  was  then  abroad.  In  fact,  open  rebellion 
at  length  appeared,  and  the  movement  known  as  the 
"  Whiskey  Insurrection"*  in  Pennsylvania,  at  one  time 
threatened  serious  consequences  to  the  whole  framework 
of  our  government.  But  Mr.  Clymer  was  unawed,  and 
amid  many  personal  dangers,  he  passed  forward  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty.  At  length,  when  things  became 
quiet,  he  resigned.  In  1796,  he  was  appointed,  with 
Colonels  Hawkins  and  Pickens,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokee  and  Creek  tribes  of  Indians,  in  Georgia. 
This  they  effected  to  the  mutual  satisfaction  of  the  con 
tending  parties.  This  mission  closed  the  public  life  of 
Mr.  Clymer,  and  the  remainder  of  his  days  were  spent  in 
acts  of  private  usefulness,!  and  a  personal  preparation  for 
another  world.  He  died  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
January,  1813,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age.  His 
long  life  was  an  active  and  useful  one,  and  not  a  single 
moral  stain  marked  its  manifested  purity. 

*  A  portion  of  the  people  of  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  violently  opposed  the 
excise  law,  it  being  a  region  where  much  whiskey  was  distilled,  and  hence  the 
tax  or  duty  amounted  to  a  considerable  resource.  This  excise  law  was  adopted 
by  Congress  in  1790.  In  1792,  so  insurrectionary  had  the  people  become  in  rela 
tion  to  the  duty  on  distilled  liquor,  that  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  the 
President  cf  the  United  States  to  call  out  the  militia  of  the  Slate,  if  necessary  to 
enforce  the  laws.  He  withheld  his  power  for  nearly  two  years,  but  at  length  the 
"  Whiskey  Insurrection"  assumed  such  a  formidable  aspect,  that  an  army  of  fifteen 
thousand  men  were  placed  in  the  field.  The  rebellion  ceased  without  a  conflict, 

t  Mr.  Clymer  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in 
Philadelphia,  and  was  its  first  President,  which  office  he  held  until  his  decease 
He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Philadelphia  Agricultural  Society ;  aiA. 
his  name  appears  conspicuous  in  many  of  the  benevolent  movements  of  hia  day. 


AMES  SMITH  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  was 
quite  a  small  child  when  brought  by 
his  father  to  this  country.  The  date 
of  his  birth  is  not  recorded,  and  Mr. 
Smith  himself  could  never  be  induced  to 
tell  it.  It  is  supposed  to  be  somewhere 
about  1720.  His  father,  who  had  a  numerous  family 
of  children,  settled  upon  the  Susquehanna  river,  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  there  in  1761.  James  was 
his  second  son,  an  I,  discovering  a  strong  intellect  at 

119 


120  PENNSYLVANIA. 

an  early  age,  his  father  determined  to  give  him  a  libe 
ral  education.  For  this  purpose  he  placed  him  under 
the  charge  of  Reverend  Doctor  Allison,  provost  of  the 
college  of  Philadelphia.  He  there  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  Latin  and  Greek,  and  what  proved  more  useful  to 
him,  practical  surveying. 

After  completing  his  tuition,  he  began  the  study  of  law 
in  Lancaster,  and  when  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  removed 
westward,  and  practised  both  law  and  surveying.  The 
place  where  he  located  was  very  sparsely  populated,  and 
indeed  was  almost  a  wilderness.  The  flourishing  town  of 
Shippensburg  has  since  sprung  up  there.  After  a  short 
continuance  in  his  wilderness  home,  Mr.  Smith  moved  to 
the  flourishing  village  of  York,  where  he  found  no  busi 
ness  competition  for  many  years.  He  married  Miss 
Eleanor  Amor  of  Newcastle,  Delaware,  and  became  a 
permanent  resident  of  York,  where  he  stood  at  the  head 
of  the  bar  until  the  opening  of  the  Revolution. 

Mr.  Smith  early  perceived  the  gathering  storm  which 
British  oppressions  were  elaborating  here  ;  and  when  men 
began  to  speak  out  fearlessly,  he  was  among  the  first  in 
Pennsylvania  to  take  sides  with  the  patriots  of  Massachu 
setts  and  Virginia.  He  heartily  seconded  the  proposition 
for  non-importation  agreements,  and  for  a  General  Con 
gress.  He  was  a  delegate  from  the  county  of  York  to  the 
Pennsylvania  convention  (which  was  styled  the  "  Commit 
tee  of  Pennsylvania"*),  whose  duty  it  was  to  ascertain  the 
sentiments  of  the  people,  and  publish  an  address.  Mr. 
Smith  was  a  member  of  the  sub-committee  chosen  to 
prepare  the  address,  which  was  in  the  form  of  instructions 
to  the  representatives  of  the  people  in  the  General  As 
sembly  of  the  state.  He  was  earnest  in  endeavor- 

*  These  committees  formed  in  other  Colonies,  and  were  distinct  from  the 
Colonial  Assemblies  authorized  by  the  Royal  Governors.  In  1775  they  superseded 
those  Assemblies,  and  assumed  general  legislative  powers,  which  they  exercised 
as  Provincial  Congresses,  until  the  Confederation  of  the  States  took  place. 


JAMES  SMITH.  121 

ing  to  arouse  the  people  to  positive  resistance,  and  as 
early  as  1774,  he  was  in  favor  of  cutting  the  bond  that 
held  the  colonies  to  the  British  throne.* 

When  Congress  passed  a  resolution,  recommending 
the  several  colonies  to  "  adopt  such  governments  as  in  the 
opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  might 
best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  con 
stituents,"  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  was  slow  to  act 
accordingly.  In  fact  its  instructions  to  its  delegates  in 
Congress  were  not  favorable  to  independence,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  people  of  that  state  spoke  out  their  senti 
ments  in  a  general  convention,  that  Pennsylvania  was 
truly  represented  there.  The  seats  of  her  delegates,  who 
refused  to  vote  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  withdrew  from  Congress,  were  filled  with  bold  men, 
and  one  of  these  was  James  Smith,  who,  with  George 
Clymer  and  Benjamin  Rush,  took  his  seat  some  days 
after  that  glorious  instrument  was  adopted.  He  was 
there  in  time,  however,  to  place  his  signature  to  the 
parchment  on  the  second  day  of  August  ensuing. 

Mr.  Smith,  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  Penn 
sylvania  convened  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  state,  af 
ter  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  There  he  was  very 
active,  and  it  was  not  until  October,  1776,  that  he  was 
a  regular  attendant  in  the  General  Congress.  He  way 
soon  after  appointed  one  of  a  most  important  committee 
whose  business  was  to  aid  Washington  in  opposing  the 

*  He  was  convinced  that  reconciliation  was  out  of  the  question,  and  that  war 
was  inevitable.  He  accordingly  raised  and  drilled  a  volunteer  corps  at  York,  (tho 
first  ever  raised  in  the  State.)  which  was  the  commencement  of  a  general  organi 
zation  of  the  militia  in  that  Province.  Other  companies  were  formed,  and  when 
a  sufficient  number  were  organized  to  form  a  regiment,  Mr.  Smith  was  elected 
Coionel.  His  age,  however,  precluded  his  entering  upon  active  service,  and  he 
held  the  office  as  an  honorary  boon.  According  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Penn  be 
fore  Parliament,  the  body  of  military  "  Assoeiators"  thus  founded  !>y  Mr.  Smith 
amounted  in  number,  before  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  to  twenty  thou 
sand,  whose  services  wrre  pledged  to  the  State. 

6 


122  PENNSYLVANIA. 

progress  of  General  Howe's  army.*    They  were  intrusted 
with  almost  unlimited  discretionary  powers,  and  the  scope 
of  their  operations  included  the  whole  business  of  advi 
sing  and  superintending  the  military  movements. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  Mr.  Smith  declined  a  re-election 
to  Congress,  and  resumed  his  professional  business  at 
York  ;  but  the  unfortunate  defeats  of  the  Americans  at 
the  Brandywine  and  at  Germantown,  and  the  capture  of 
Philadelphia  by  the  British,  called  for  his  valuable  pre 
sence  in  the  national  council,  and  he  obeyed  the  voice  of 
duty.  Congress  adjourned  to  Lancaster  when  Howe's 
army  took  Philadelphia,  and  afterward  it  adjourned  to 
York,  the  place  of  Mr.  Smith's  residence.  When  the 
battle  of  Monmouth,  in  1778,  made  the  hope  of  Ame 
rican  triumph  beam  brightly,  Mr.  Smith  retired  again 
from  Congress,  and  resumed  his  professional  business. 
In  1779  he  was;  called  to  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  served  one  term,  and  then  with 
drew.  This  closed  his  public  career,  and  he  lived  in 
the  enjoyment  of  domestic  happiness  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  eleventh  day  of  July,  1806.  He 
is  supposed  to  have  been  nearly  ninety  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Smith  was  quite  an  eccentric  man,  and  possessed 
a  vein  of  humor,  coupled  with  sharp  wit,  which  made 
him  a  great  favorite  in  the  social  circle  in  which  he 
moved.  He  was  always  lively  in  his  conversation  and 
manners  except  when  religious  subjects  were  the  topics, 
when  he  was  very  grave  and  never  suffered  any  in  his 
presence  to  sneer  at  or  speak  with  levity  of  Christianity. 
Although  not  a  professor  of  religion,  he  was  a  posses 
sor  of  many  of  its  sublimer  virtues,  and  practised  its  ho 
liest  precepts. 

*  His  associates  were  James  Wilson,  Samuel  Chew,  George  Clymer,  and  Rich 
»rd  Stockton 


EORGE   TAYLOR  was  born  in  Ireland,  in 
the  year  1716,  and  came  to  this  coun 
try  when  he  was  about  twenty  years  oi 
age.     He  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman 
but  whether  Roman  Catholic  or  Protee 
taut,  is  not  known.     He  was  well  edu 
cated,  but  was  poor  on  his  arrival,  and  performed  meni,; 
service  for  a  livelihood.     He  afterward  became  a  clerk  in 
the  iron  estaolishment  of  Mr.  Savage,  at  Durham,  in  Penn- 

123 


124  PENNSYLVANIA 

sylvania  ;  and  sometime  after  the  death  tf  his  employer 
he  married  that  gentleman's  widow,  by  which  he  came 
into  possession  of  considerable  property  and  a  thriving 
business. 

After  pursuing  the  business  for  some  time,  at  Durham, 
and  acquiring  a  handsome  fortune,  Mr.  Taylor  purchased 
an  estate  on  the  Lehigh,  in  Northumberland  county,  and 
erected  iron  works  there.  His  wealth,  education,  and 
business  talents,  and  his  urbanity  of  manner,  soon  gained 
for  him  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people,  and  he 
was  elected  by  them  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly 
in  1764.  In  that  body  he  soon  became  a  distinguished 
actor,  and  was  placed  upon  its  most  important  committees. 

It  was  during  Mr.  Taylor's  membership  in  the  Colonial 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  that  that  body  received  the 
circular  letter  from  Massachusetts,  proposing  a  General 
Colonial  Congress  at  New  York,  in  1765.*  The  Assem 
bly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  Mr.  Taylor  was  one  of 
the  committee  to  whom  was  assigned  the  duty  of  drawing 

*  The  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  in  March,  1765,  excited  a  spirit  of  resistance  in 
the  Colonies,  that  threatened  open  rebellion.  The  Massachusetts  Assembly  sent 
forth  a  circular  letter  to  the  other  Colonies,  proposing  a  General  Congress  of  d  ?le- 
gates  from  them,  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  October  following,  for  he 
purpose  of  consulting  upon  the  public  good.  At  the  opening  of  the  Conventi  i, 
the  following  delegates  appeared  and  took  their  seats.  From  Massachusetts,  James 
Otis,  Oliver  Partridge,  Timothy  Ruggles ;  Rhode  Island,  Metcalf  Bowler,  Henry 
Ward  ;  Connecticut,  Eliphalet  Dyer,  David  Rowland,  William  S.  Johnson  ;  New 
York,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  John  Cruger,  Philip  Livingston,  William  Bayard, 
Leonard  Lispenard ;  Pennsylvania,  John  Dickenson,  John  Morton,  George  Bryan  ; 
Maryland,  William  Murdock,  Edward  Tilghman,  Thomas  Ringgold ;  New  Jersey, 
Robert  Ogden,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Joseph  Borden ;  Delaware,  Thomas  McKean, 
Ciesar  Rodney ;  South  Carolina,  Thomas  Lynch,  Christopher  Gadsden,  John 
Rutledge.  Timothy  Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts,  (who  was  a  royalist  during  the 
Revolution),  was,  by  bailor,  elected  President.  They  adopted  a  "  Declaration  of 
Rights,"  a  "  Petition  to  the  King,"  and  a  "  Memorial  to  Parliament.'1  The  "Decla 
ration  of  Rights"  was  penned  by  John  Cruger,  delegate  from  New  York.  He  was 
at  that  time  speaker  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  Mayer  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  The  "  Petition  to  the  King."  was  written  by  Robert  R.  Livingston,  also  a 
member  from  New  York,  who  afterward  had  the  high  honor  of  administering  the 
oath  of  office  to  Washington  when  he  was  inaugurated  the  first  President  of  tho 
United  States. 


GEORGE  TAYLOR.  125 

up  instructions  for  the  delegates  from  that  Province. 
Those  instructions  were  supposed  to  be  from  his  pen,  and 
evinced  much  wisdom  and  sound  judgment. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly 
five  consecutive  years,  when,  finding  his  private  interests 
suffering  in  consequence  of  his  absence,  he  declined  a  re 
election,  and  for  sometime  withdrew  from  public  life.  He 
was  elected  to  the  Provincial  Congress  in  1775,  and  was 
one  of  the  committee  appointed  to  draw  up  instructions 
for  the  delegates  to  the  General  Congress,  which  convened 
in  May  of  that  year.  These  instructions,  which  were  not 
sanctioned  by  the  Assembly  until  November,  contained 
a  clause  strictly  prohibiting  the  delegates  from  concumng 
in  any  proposition  for  political  independence,  a  reconcilia 
tion  being  still  hoped  for.  But  public  feeling  very  mate 
rially  changed  on  this  point  during  the  spring  of  1776 
and  in  June  that  prohibition  was  removed,  and  the  dele 
gates  were  lejfc.to  act  according  to  their  own  discretion. 
Still,  a  portion  of  the  delegates  remained  firm  in  their  op 
position  to  the  measure,  and  Mr.  Taylor  was  one  of  those 
appointed  to  fill  their  places.  lie  was  therefore  not  pres 
ent  in  Congress  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  adopted,  but  was  there  in  time  to  sign  it  on  the 
second  day  of  August. 

Mr.  Taylor  remained  in  Congress  one  year,  and  then 
withdrew  from  public  life  and  settled  in  Eastoti.  He  died 
on  the  twenty -third  day  of  February,  1781,  a?e4  sixty- 
five  years. 


his  distinguished  patriot  was  born  in 
Scotland  in  1742,  and  emigrated  to  this 
country  in  1766.  He  had  received  his 
education  under  some  of  the  best  teach 
ers  in  Edinburgh,  and  he  brought  with 
him  such  strong  recommendations  to 
eminent  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  that  he  soon  obtained  a 
situation  as  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  Philadelphia  col 
lege,  then  under  the  supervision  of  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Peters.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  eminent  John  Dicken- 

126 


JAMES  WILSON.  127 

son,*  and  after  two  years' close  application,  he  established 
himself  in  business,  first  in  Reading  and  afterward  in 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  He  finally  fixed  his  permanent 
residence  in  Philadelphia.  He  rapidly  rose  to  eminence 
in  his  profession,  and  became  distinguished  as  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  republican  cause  whenever  an  opportu 
nity  presented  itself. 

Having  adopted  America  as  his  home,  Mr.  Wilson 
espoused  her  cause  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  native  bora 
citizen.  This  gave  him  great  popularity,  and  in  1774,  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  May,  1775,  he  was  chosen  a  delegate 
to  the  General  Congress,  together  with  Benjamin  Frank 
lin  and  Thomas  Willing.  He  was  again  elected  for  the 
session  of  1776,  and  warmly  supported  the  motion  of 
Richard  Henry  Lee  for  absolute  independence.  He  vo 
ted  ibr  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Disenthralment 
and  remained  an  active  member  of  Congress  until  1777, 
when  he  and  Mr.  Clymer  were  not  re-elected  in  conse 
quence  of  the  operations  of  a  strong  party  spirit  which  at 
that  time  existed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly. 

Mr.  Wilson,  however,  continued  actively  engaged  for 
the  public  good,  even  in  private  life,  nor  did  he  allow  that 
jealousy  of  his  rising  fame,  which  had  interposed  a  bar 
rier  to  his  re-election,  in  the  least  to  repress  his  zeal  for  his 
adopted  country's  welfare.  He  had  been  an  indefatigable 
coadjutor  with  Mr.  Smith  in  the  organization  of  volunteer 
military  corps,  and  was  elected  colonel  of  a  regiment  in 
1774.  The  energy  he  there  displayed  was  now  again  exer 
ted  in  raising  recruits  for  the  Continental  army,  and  through 

*  Mr.  Dickenson  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  America. 
He  was  a  powerful  writer,  and  his  "  Letters  of  a  Pennsylvania  Farmer"  were  very 
instrumental  in  bringing  on  that  crisis  in  public  affairs  in  the  Colonies  which 
brought  about  the  Revolution.  He  was  always  opposed  to  the  proposition  for  in 
dependence,  and  would  have  voted  against  it  if  he  had  lieen  in  his  seat  on  the  fourth 
of  July,  1776.  His  earnest  desire  was  to  obtain  justice  for  America,  without  dlfl 
oaemb  ering  the  British  empire. 


128  PENNSYLVANIA. 

his  influence,  the  Pennsylvania  line  was  much  strength 
ened. 

In  1777,  difficulties  having  arisen  with  the  Indians 
within  the  bounds  of  the  state,  Mr.  Wilson  was  sent 
as  a  commissioner  to  treat  with  them,  and  he  was  suc 
cessful  in  his  undertaking.  Soon  after  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Gerard,  the  French  minister,*  Mr.  Wilson  formed  an  ac 
quaintance  with  him,  which  ripened  into  friendship,  and 
Mr.  Gerard  was  so  struck  with  the  versatility  of  his  ta 
lents,  that  in  1780  he  appointed  him  the  Advocate  Gene 
ral  of  the  French  nation  in  the  United  States,  an  office 
which  required  a  thorough  knowledge  of  international 
and  commercial  laws.  The  appointment  was  confirmed 
by  the  French  King  in  1781-f 

Toward  the  close  of  1782,  Mr.  Wilson  was  again  elec 
ted  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress,  and  took  his 
seat  in  January,  1783.  During  that  year,  the  executive 
council  of  Pennsylvania,  appointed  him  an  agent  and 
counsellor  in  the  controversy  of  that  state  with  Connecti 
cut,  respecting  the  Wyoming  domain.  In  this  important 
service  he  was  very  successful,  and  the  matter  was 
brought  to  an  amicable  settlement.  He  was  again  elected 
to  Congress  toward  the  close  of  1785,  and  took  his  seat  in 
March  following.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the  con 
vention  that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution  in  1787,  and 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  that  reported  the  first 
draft.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  convention 
that  ratified  it,  and  was  chosen  to  deliver  an  oration  on 

*  As  soon  as  France,  by  the  treaty  of  February,  1778,  openly  declared  in  favor 
of  the  United  States,  she  promptly  commenced  the  fulfilment  of  her  agreement,  by 
fitting  out  a  fleet  of  twelve  sail  of  the  line,  and  sent  them  to  America,  under  Count 
D'Estaing.  She  also  appointed  a  minister  (Mr.  Gerard)  to  Congress,  and  he  came 
with  the  French  fleet,  and  was  landed  at  Sandy  Hook,  in  July  of  that  year. 

t  Mr.  Gerard  stipulated  with  Mr.  Wilson.,  that  an  annual  salary  should  be 
allotted  him  ;  but  after  his  devotion  to  his  duties  for  some  time,  he  received  a  no 
tification  from  the  French  King,  that  it  was  not  his  pleasure  to  sanction  that  stipu 
lation.  Mr.  Wilson  at  once  resigned  the  office,  justly  complaining  of  bad  treatment 


JAMES   WILSON.  129 

the  occasion  of  a  celebration  of  the  event  in  Philadelphia. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  that  framed  a 
new  constitution  for  Pennsylvania  in  1788.  In  the  ar 
rangement  of  the  judiciary  under  the  Federal  Constitution, 
President  Washington  appointed  Mr.  Wilson  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

He  was  appointed  the  first  Professor  of  Law  in  the  Col 
lege  of  Philadelphia,  in  1790,  and  when,  in  1792,  that  insti 
tution  and  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  were  united, 
he  was  appointed  to  the  same  professorship  there,  which 
office,  as  well  as  that  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
he  held  until  his  death. 

In  1791,  the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives 
chose  him, by  a  unanimous  vote,  to  revise  and  properly 
:ligest  the  laws  of  the  state.  He  at  once  entered  upon  the 
duties  assigned  him,  and  had  made  a  considerable  progress 
in  the  arduous  work,  when  his  labors  were  arrested  by 
the  Senate  refusing  to  concur  in  the  object  for  which  the 
appointment  had  been  made.  His  task  was  never  re 
sumed. 

In  his  official  capacity  as  judge  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Circuit  Court,  he  frequently  made  long  jour 
neys  into  other  states.  It  was  while  on  a  judicial  circuit 
in  North  Carolina,  that  his  death  occurred  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  August,  1798,  at  the  house  of  his  friend, 
Judge  Iredell  of  Edenton.  He  was  in  the  fifty-sixth 
year  of  his  age. 

For  many  years,  Mr.  Wilson  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
Philadelphia  bar,  and  so  popular  was  he  as  an  advocate, 
that  nearly  every  important  case  that  came  before  the 
higher  tribunals  of  that  State  was  defended  by  him.  As 
a  patriot  none  was  firmer  ;  as  a  Christian  none  aincerer; 
and  as  a  husband,  father,  neighbor  and  friend,  he  was  b*»- 
loved  and  esteemed  in  the  highest  degree. 


FORGE  Ross  was  born  in  New  Castlev 
Delaware,  in  the  year  1730.  His  father 
was  a  highly  esteemed  minister  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  that  town,  and  he 
educated  his  son  with  much  care,  hav 
ing  himself  experienced  the  great  advan 
tage  of  a  liberal  education.  He  soon  became  very  pro 
ficient  in  Latin  and  Greek,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  entered,  as  a  student,  the  law  office  of  his  brother, 
then  a  respectable  member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar.  He 

130 


GEORGE   ROSS.  131 

was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
and  fixed  his  residence  in  Lancaster,  where  he  married  a 
highly  respectable  young  woman  named  Lawler. 

Mr.  Ross  first  appeared  in  public  life  in  1768,  when  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  for 
Lancaster.  He  was  much  respected  in  that  body,  and 
was  re-elected  several  successive  years.  And  when  the  en 
actments  of  the  British  Cabinet  for  enslaving  the  Colo 
nies  were  causing  the  public  men  of  America  to  define 
their,  positions,  Mr.  Ross  very  readily  took  sides  with  the 
patriots,  and  heartily  commended  the  proposed  measure 
of  calling  a  General  Congress.  He  was  chosen  one  of  the 
seven  delegates  which  represented  Pennsylvania  in  that 
august  Convention,  and  was  present  at  the  opening  in 
September,  1774.  And,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  Mr. 
Ross  was'  directed  by  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  to 
draw  up  the  instructions  which  were  to  govern  himself  and 
his  colleagues  in  the  Continental  Congress.  And  so 
highly  was  he  esteemed  by  his  fellow-citizens,  that  during 
the  whole  time  that  he  was  in  Congress,  from  1774  to  177 7, 
he  was  regularly  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania,  as  a  representative  for  Lancaster.  Nearly 
his  whole  time  was  consumed  by  attention  to  public  du 
ties  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  legislative  councils,  yet  he 
freely  gave  it  "  without  money  and  without  price."*  He 
was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Lee,  pro 
posing  independence,  and  joyfully  signed  the  Declaration 
thereof,  on  the  second  of  August,  1776. 

The  benevolent  attributes  of  Mr,  Ross's  character,  led 
him  early  to  exercise  an  active  sympathy  for  the  remnants 
of  the  Indian  tribes  in  his  vicinity,  and  through  his  influ 
ence  their  condition  was  ameliorated,  and  justice  meted 

*  As  a  testimony  of  their  appreciation  of  his  services  in  the  General  Congress, 
it  was  voted  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling  should  be  sent 
to  him  as  a  free  gift,  from  the  treasury  of  Lancaster  county.  But  his  stern  patriot 
•**Y\  made  him  courteously  refuse  ti*s  proffered  donation. 


132  PENNSYLVANIA. 

out  to  them,  and  theii  just  wrath  was  frequently  appeased 
by  his  exertions,  when  it  threatened  to  burst  like  a  con 
suming  fire  upon  the  frontier  settlements.*  Both  his  own 
State  Legislature  and  the  National  Council,  made  him  a 
mediator  in  difficulties  which  arose  with  the  Indians,  and 
ho  acted  the  noble  part  of  a  pacificator,  and  a  true  phi 
lanthropist.  Nor  did  his  humane  sentiments  flow  out  to 
ward  the  oppressed  red  man  alone,  but  wherever  weak 
ness  was  trodden  down  by  strength,  he  fearlessly  lent  his 
aid.  Thus,  when  Tories  or  adherents  to  the  Crown,  were 
persecuted  and  imprisoned,  and  it  was  esteemed  next  to 
treason  to  defend  their  cause,  Mr.  Ross,  Mr.  Wilson,  and 
a  few  others,  were  ever  ready  to  plead  in  their  behalf.f 

In  April,  1799,  Mr.  Ross  was  appointed  a  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Admiralty  for  Pennsylvania,  in  which  office 
he  would  undoubtedly  have  greatly  distinguished  himself, 
had  not  death  suddenly  closed  his  active  and  highly  use 
ful  life,  in  July,  1780,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 

*  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  treatment  of  the  Indian  tribes  at  the  hands  of  the 
whites,  in  a  large  majority  of  cases,  has  been  such  that  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  untutored  mind  of  the  savage  should,  in  its  excited  workings,  elaborate 
Bchemes  of  revenge,  a  sentiment  growing  out  of  injuries  received,  and  a  jealous 
foreboding  of  future  expulsion  from  their  hunting  grounds  and  the  graves  of  their 
fathers.  Although  unchristian  and  savage,  yet  the  Indian  possesses  the  sentiment 
of  patriotism,  and  reveres  the  land  of  his  fathers ;  and  among  no  people  upon 
earth  is  veneration  for  the  resting  place  of  the  dead  more  strongly  exhibited  than 
by  him.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  vision  of  expatriation,  perhaps  annihilation, 
which  the  future  revealed,  should  have  made  him  arise  in  his  might,  and  by  the 
tomahawk  and  torch  attempt  to  stay  the  flood  of  white  settlement,  whose  surges 
beat  so  strongly  against  the  feeble  barriers  of  his  already  contracted  domain.  Had 
the  law  of  kindness  and  the  principle  of  justice  always  prevailed,  as  they  did  under 
the  mild  and  prosperous  rule  of  William  Penn,  the  Indian  would  have  been  the 
white  man's  friend,  and  those  dark  pictures  of  fire  and  blood  would  never  have 
appeared  among  the  delineations  of  our  eventful  history. 

t  The  tories  of  the  Revolution  were  far  more  despised  (and  justly  so)  by  the 
patriots,  than  the  mercenary  troops  of  Great  Britain.  They  not  only  lifted  their 
bands  against  their  own  brethren,  but  in  many  cases  their  treachery  and  cruelty 
exceeded  the  worst  acts  of  the  British  soldiery.  During  the  winter,  when  the 
American  army  was  suffering  every  thing  but  death  at  Valley  Forge,  the  interior  of 
Pennsylvania  swarmed  with  tories  ;  and  when  Washington,  by  order  of  Congress, 
proceeded  to  take,  by  force,  the  grain  and  other  food  which  the  tory  farmers  re» 
fused  to  sell  to  the  army,  they,  in  some  instances,  burnt  their  produce,  rather  tha» 
Im  e  it  feed  the  starving  Americans  ! 


RODNEY  was  born  at  Dover,  in  the 
Province  of  Delaware,  in  the  year  1730. 
He  was  descended  from  English  ancestry. 
His  grandfather  came  from  England  soon 
after  William  Penn  commenced  the  settle 
ment  of  Pennsylvania.*  After  remaining  a  short  time  in 
Philadelphia,  and  forming  acquaintances  with  some  of  its 
most  esteemed  citizens,  he  went  into  the  county  of  Kent,  on 
the  Delaware,  and  settled  down  upon  a  plantation.  He 
was  an  active  man,  and  becoming  very  popular,  he  held 
many  posts  of  honor  and  distinction  in  that  Province.  He 
had  several  sons,  but  lost  them  all  except  his  youngest, 
Caesar,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  Unambi 
tious  of  public  honors,  and  preferring  the  quiet  of  domestic 
life  to  the  bustle  and  turmoil  of  the  political  field,  he  de 
clined  all  offices  that  were  tendered  to  him  ;  and  in  the 
midst  of  agricultural  pursuits  he  enriched  his  mind  by 
study,  and  prepared  his  children  for  the  duties  of  life. 

*  In  1681,  William  Penn,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  and 
son  of  the  English  Admiral  of  that  name,  obtained  a  grant  of  Charles  II.  of  all  the 
lands  embraced  in  the  present  Stats  of  Pennsylvania.  That  region  had  been  colo 
nized  by  Swedes,  nearly  forty  years  before,  and  Penn  issued  a  proclamation, 
guarantying  to  permanent  settlers  undisputed  right  to  the  lands  they  occupied. 
The  great  aim  of  that  good  man  was  to  establish  an  empire  in  the  new  world,  upon 
the  sacred  principles  of  peace  and  brotherly  love,  where  men  of  all  nations,  creeds, 
and  hues,  might  live  together  as  one  harmonious  family.  Had  the  policy  of  WU 
liam  Penn,  in  conciliating  the  Indians  by  uniform  kindness  of  ti  eatment,  been 
followed  in  the  other  colonies,  much  bloodshed  might  have  been  prevented,  and 
the  settlements  would  sooner  have  become  permanent  and  prosperous.  During 
the  entire  time  that  William  Penn  was  proprietor  of  Pennsylvania,  not  a  single 
dispute  occurred  with  the  natives. 

133 


134  DELAWARE. 

He  married  the  daughter  of  an  esteemed  clergyman,  and, 
Caesar  being  the  first  born,  received  their  special  attention 
in  the  matter  of  education  of  mind  and  heart. 

On  the  death  of  his  father,  Mr.  Rodney  as  the  eldpst 
male  heir  inherited  the  paternal  estate,  and  with  it,  tne 
distinguished  consideration  with  which  the  family  had 
ever  been  regarded.  There  are  no  records  to  show  at 
what  precise  time  he  appeared  in  public  life,  but  as  he 
seems  to  have  been  a  leader  in  the  recorded  proceedings 
of  the  Legislature  of  that  Province  in  1762,  it  is  quite  pro 
bable  that  he  had  done  service  there  some  years  earlier. 

When  the  Stamp  Act  excited  the  jealousy  and  alarm 
of  the  colonies,  Mr.  Rodney  boldly  proclaimed  his  senti 
ments  in  opposition  to  it  and  several  antecedent  acts  of 
injustice  which  the  British  government  had  inflicted  upan 
her  colonies  in  America.  He  acted  as  well  as  thought 
and  spoke,  and  when  the  "  Stamp  Act  Congress"  met  in 
New  York,  in  1765,  Mr.  Rodney,  together  with  Mr. 
M'Kean  and  Mr.  Rollock,  was  chosen  delegate  thereto 
by  a  unanimous  vote. 

Mr.  Rodney  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assem 
bly  in  1769,  and  was  chosen  its  Speaker.  He  continued 
a  member,  and  the  Speaker  of  that  body  until  1774,  and 
as  chairman  of  the  corresponding  committee,  he  was  ar 
duous  in  plying  his  pen  in  the  interchange  of  political  sen 
timents  with  his  compatriots  in  other  colonies.  He  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress,  by  a  conven 
tion  of  the  people  of  the  three  counties  of  Delaware,  in  Au- 
guss,  1774,  and  took  his  seat  at  the  opening  of  Congress, 
on  the  fifth  of  September  following.  His  colleagues  were 
Thomas  M'Kean  and  George  Read,  and  three  more  de 
voted  and  active  men  than  these  could  hardly  be  found. 
He  was  one  of  a  committee  who  drew  up  a  Declaration 
of  Rights  and  set  forth,  in  an  address,  the  causes  for  com« 
plaint,  under  which  the  cc^onists  groaned. 


CJSSAR    RODNEY.  18ft 

Mr.  Rodney  was  elected  a  delegate  for  1775,  and  while 
attending  to  his  duties  in  Congress,  he  was  appointed 
Brigadier  General  of  his  province.  This  appointment 
imposed  heavy  additional  duties  upon  him,  yet  he  did  not 
shrink  from  their  performance,  and  he  was  alternately  in 
Congress  and  at  home,  attending  at  the  latter  place  to  the 
duties  of  his  military  station.  He  was  there  during  the 
closing  debates  upon  the  proposition  for  a  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  1776,  but  was  sent  for  by  his  colleague, 
Mr.  M'Kean,  so  as  to  secure  the  vote  of  Delaware  for 
that  important  measure.  He  arrived  in  time  to  give  his 
voice  for  independence,  and  enjoyed  the  high  privilege  of 
signing  the  revered  parchment.  On  his  return  to  his  con 
stituents  they  approved,  by  acclamation,  of  his  acts  in  the 
National  Council. 

In  the  autumn  of  1776,  the  people  of  Delaware  called 
a  convention  to  frame  a  State  Constitution,  and  to  elect 
delegates  to  the  next  Congress.  Through  the  machinations 
of  tory  members  of  that  convention,  whose  principles  to  a 
great  extent  leavened  it,  Mr.  Rodney  and  Mr.  M'Kean 
were  not  re-elected.  But  this  only  tended  to  increase  his 
ardor,  and  his  pen  was  constantly  busy  in  correspondence. 
He  was  also  enabled  by  this  defeat,  to  attend  to  his  pri 
vate  affairs  which  had  suffered  much  by  his  absence. 

After  the  battle  of  Princeton  at  the  beginning  of  1777,  in 
which  Colonel  Haslet,  who  belonged  to  General  Rodney's 
brigade,  was  killed,  the  latter  immediately  started  for  the 
army,  and  meeting  Lord  Stirling  at  Philadelphia,  received 
orders  to  remain  at  Princeton,  and  make  it  a  sort  of  recruit 
ing  station.  General  Rodney  remained  there  for  about 
tvro  months,  when  his  services  became  no  longer  necessary 
and  he  returned  to  his  family. 

Soon  after  his  return  home,  he  was  appointed  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court.  He,  however,  declined  the  honor 
preferring  the  more  active  life  of  his  military  station.  Ho 


136  DELAWARE.  9 

was  soon  afterward  called  to  marshal  his  brigade  to  a  scene 
of  insurrectionary  disorder  in  Delaware,  which  he  speedily 
quelled  ;  and  he  also  joined  the  main  army  of  Washington 
when  the  British  ur.der  Lord  Howe  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Elk  river,  and  directed  their  march  toward  Philadel 
phia.*  Not  long  after  this  event,  toryism  became  so  much  in 
the  minority,  that  it  had  but  little  power  to  oppose  the  pa 
triots  and  General  Rodney  was  again  elected  to  Congress. 
But  the  political  agitation  of  his  State  demanded  his  pre 
sence  there,  and  he  remained.  He  was  chosen  President 
of  the  State,  and  performed  the  arduous  duties  of  his 
office  with  great  faithfulness  for  about  four  years.  Dela 
ware  was  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  predatory  incursions 
of  the  enemy,  and  it  required  great  sagacity  and  arduous 
toil  for  those  who  managed  her  affairs,  to  prevent  a  state 
of  anarchy. 

While  thus  laboring  for  his  country's  good,  Mr.  Rodney 
suffered  greatly  from  the  effects  of  a  disease  (cancer  in  the 
cheek)  that  had  been  upon  him  from  his  youth,  and  it 
made  dreadful  inroads  upon  his  health.  Feeling  conscious 
that  he  was  wasting  away,  he  retired  from  public  life  and 
calmly  awaited  the  summons  for  departure  to  the  spirit- 
land.  He  died  early  in  the  year  1783,  when  in  the  fifty- 
third  year  of  his  age. 

*  General  Howe,  finding  it  impracticable  to  reach  Philadelphia  by  land,  em 
barked  his  troops  on  board  the  British  fleet,  then  lying  off  Sandy  Hook,  and  pro- 
ceeded  to  the  Chesapeake  Bay.  His  troops  were  landed  at  the  mouth  of  Elk 
River  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1777,  and  that  was  the  first  intimation  Washing, 
ton  had  of  his  real  destination.  The  British  immediately  commenced  their  march 
toward  Philadelphia,  and  the  Americans  at  the  same  time  marched  from  that  city 
to  meet  them.  They  met  upon  the  river  Brandywine,  where  the  battle  of  that 
name,  so  disastrous  to  the  Americans,  occurred.  It  was  there  that  La  Fayetta 
greatly  disHrvjuished  himself,  and  was  severely  wounded. 


EORGE  READ  was  born  in  Cecil  county, 
in  the  Province  of  Maryland,  in  the 
year  1734,  and  was  the  eldest  of  six 
brothers.  He  was  of  Irish  descent. 
His  grandfather  was  a  wealthy  resi 
dent  of  Dublin,  his  native  city,  and  his 
father  emigrated  to  America  from  Ireland,  about  1726. 
George  was  placed  in  a  school  of  considerable  repute  at 
Chester,  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  made  much  progress 
in  Latin  and  Greek,  his  father  having  previously  instructed 

137 


138  DELAWARE. 

him  in  all  the  common  branches  of  a  good  English  educa 
tion.  He  was  afterward  placed  under  the  care  of  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Allison,  who  at  various  times  had  charge 
of  several  pupils,  who  were  afterward  members  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  or  held  other  high  official  stations. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  young  Read  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  John  Morland,  a  dis 
tinguished  barrister  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  very  studi 
ous,  and  during  his  pupilage  in  the  profession,  he  pos 
sessed  the  entire  confidence  of  his  instructor,  who  also  be 
came  his  warm  friend.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1753,  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen  years,  and  then  com 
menced  a  career  of  honor  and  usefulness  to  himself  and 
others.*  In  1754,  he  settled  in  the  county  of  New  Castle, 
Delaware,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Although  competitors  of  eminence  were  all  around  him, 
Mr.  Read  soon  rose  to  their  level,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-nine,  he  succeeded  John  Ross,t  as  Attorney  Gen 
eral  for  the  "  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware"  of  Kent, 
Sussex  and  New  Castle.  This  office  he  held  until  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1774. 

In  1765  Mr.  Read  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly  of  Delaware,  and  was  re-elected  to  the 
office  eleven  consecutive  years.  He  was  one  of  a  com 
mittee  of  that  body,  who,  in  view  of  the  odious  features 
of  the  Stamp  Act,  proposed  an  address  to  the  King  in  be 
half  of  the  people  of  the  Province.  Mr.  Read  clearly 
perceived  however,  that  remonstrances  from  isolated  Colo- 

*  We  cannot  pass  unnoticed  an  act  of  noble  generosity  which  marked  his  initial 
•tep  in  his  profession.  As  soon  as  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  a  practising  attor 
ney^  he  voluntarily  released,  by  deed,  all  the  legal  right  which  he  had  in  the  es 
tate  of  his  father,  in  behalf  of  the  rest  of  the  children ;  alleging  that  he  had  received 
his  share  in  full  in  the  expenses  of  his  education,  and  that  he  conscientiously  be 
lieved  that  it  would  be  a  fraud  upon  the  others,  if  he  should  claim  an  equal  shar« 
with  thrni  in  the  final  division. 

t  He  was  married  m  1763  to  the  accomplished  and  pious  daughter  of  the  Rev 
erend  George  Ross,  the  pastor  of  a  Church  in  New  Castle,  and  a  relative  of  th« 
Attorney  General 


GEORGE    READ.  139 

nies  would  have  but  little  effect,  and  he  was  one  of  those 
patriots  of  prudence  and  sound  judgment,  who  looked  to 
a  general  Convention  of  representatives  of  the  several 
Colonies,  as  the  surest  means  through  which  the  sense  of 
justice  in  the  home  government  could  be  reached.  He 
also  heartily  approved  of  the  system  of  non-importation 
agreements,  and  by  assiduous  labor,  he  succeeded  in  en 
gaging  the  people  of  Delaware  in  the  measure. 

When  the  sufferings  of  the  people  of  Boston,  from  the 
effects  of  the  Act  of  Parliament  known  as  the  "  Boston 
Port  Bill,"*  excited  the  warmest  sympathy  throughout 
the  Colonies,  and  subscriptions  for  their  relief  were  every 
where  made — Mr.  Read,  with  Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  was 
made  the  channel  of  transmission  of  the  donations  of  the 
people  of  Delaware,  and  he  was  exceedingly  active  him 
self  in  procuring  pecuniary  and  other  aid. 

In  1774,  Mr.  Read,  with  Caesar  Rodney  and  Thomas 
M'Kean  for  colleagues,  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly 
of  Delaware,  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress  that  met 
in  September  of  that  year,  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  a 
delegate  also  in  1775  and  1776,  and  during  the  early  part 
of  the  latter  year,  his  labors  were  divided  between  his  du 
ties  in  Congress,  and  the  affairs  of  his  own  State.!  He 

*  On  the  thirty -first  of  March,  1774,  the  British  Parliament  passed  an  act  for  the 
punishment  of  the  people  of  Boston  for  the  destruction  of  tea  in  the  harbor,  on 
the  sixteenth  of  December  previous.  It  provided  for  the  virtual  and  actual  clos 
ing  of  the  port.  All  importations  and  exportations  were  forbidden,  and  vessels 
were  prohibited  from  entering  or  leaving  that  port.  The  Customs,  Courts  of  Jus. 
tice,  and  all  government  offices,  were  removed  to  Salem  ;  and  on  the  arrival  of 
Governor  Gage,  a  few  days  before  the  first  of  June  (the  time  the  act  was  to  take 
effect),  he  called  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  at  Sa- 
»em.  Thus  all  business  was  suddenly  crushed  in  Boston,  and  the  inhabitants  were 
reduced  to  great  misery,  overawed  as  they  were  by  large  bodies  of  armed  troops- 
The  people  of  the  C  olonies  deeply  sympathized  with  them,  and  lent  them  gener 
ous  aid.  And,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  city  of  London  subscribed  cne  hun 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the  poor  of  Boston  ! 

t  When,  in  1777,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  Governor  M'Kinley,  the 
President  of  the  State,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British,  Mr.  Read,  who  was  Vice 
President,  was  obliged  to  perform  his  duties.  He  discharged  them  with  fidelity, 
•nd  at  the  same  time  he  was  active  in  the  Committee  of  Safety.  On  one  or  two 


140  DELAWARE. 

was  an  earnest  advocate  for  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  and  considered  it  a  high  privilege  when  he  placed 
his  name  upon  the  parchment.  After  the  Declaration, 
the  people  of  Delaware  formed  a  State  Constitution,  and 
Mr.  Read  was  President  of  the  Convention  that  framed 
the  instrument. 

His  arduous  duties  at  length  affected  his  health,  and  in 
August,  1779,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Assembly  of 
Delaware.  He  was  re-elected,  however,  the  next  year. 
In  1782,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  in  Admiralty  cases,  and  he  retained  the  office 
until  that  tribunal  was  abolished.  In  1785,  Mr.  Read 
was  appointed  by  Congress  one  of  the  Justices  of  a  special 
Court  to  adjudicate  in  a  case  of  dispute  about  territory 
between  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  In  1786,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Convention  that  met  at  Annapolis,  in 
Maryland,  to  consider  and  repair  the  defects  in  the  Articles 
of  Confederation.  This  Convention  was  the  egg  of  the 
one,  which,  in  the  £ >llowing  year,  framed  the  Federal 
Constitution.  In  1788,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Senate  of  Delaware,  under  the  new  Constitution,  and  he 
occupied  a  seat  there  until  1793,  when  he  was  elevated 
to  the  bench,  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
his  State.  He  occupied  that  station  until  the  autumn  of 
1798,  when  death,  by  sudden  illness,  closed  his  useful  life,, 
in  the  sixty -fourth  year  of  his  age. 

occasions  he  marched  with  the  militia,  musket  in  hand,  to  repel  invasion.  On  his 
return  to  Delaware  at  the  time  Governor  M'Kinley  was  made  prisoner,  Mr.  Read 
and  his  whole  family  narrowly  escaped  the  same  fate.  His  family  were  with  him 
In  Philadelphia,  and  he  was  obliged  to  pass  down  the  Jersey  side  of  the  Delaware, 
and  cross  at  a  place  where  the  river  is  five  miles  wide.  He  procured  a  boat  and 
proceeded  within  sight  of  the  ships  of  the  enemy.  Before  reaching  the  shore  the 
boat  grounded,  and,  being  perceived  from  one  of  the  British  vessels,  a  skiff  waa 
eent  in  pursuit.  Mr.  Read  had  time  to  efface  every  mark  from  his  baggage  that 
might  identify  him,  and  so  completely  did  he  deceive  the  inmates  of  the  skiff,  by 
representing  himself  as  a  country  gentleman  just  returning  from  an  excursion  witt 
his  family,  that  his  pursuers  kindly  assisted  in  landing  th«  ladies  and  the  children, 
and  in  getting  his  boat  ashore. 


.HOMAS  M'KEAN  WAS  born  in  New  Lon- 
fdon,  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  in 
|the  year  1734.  His  father  was  a  na 
tive  of  Ireland,  and  Thomas  was  the 
second  child  of  his  parents.  After  re 
ceiving  the  usual  elementary  instruc 
ts/  tion,  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of 
the  Reverend  Doctor  Allison,  and  was  a  pupil  under  him 
with  George  Read.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  studies,  he  en- 

141 


142  DELAWARE. 

tered  the  office  of  David  Finney,  of  New  Castle,  as  a  law 
student ;  and  so  soon  did  his  talents  become  manifest,  thai 
in  the  course  of  a  few  months  after  entering  upon  the  study 
of  the  law,  he  was  employed  as  an  assistant  clerk  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas.  In  fact,  he  performed  ail  the 
duties  of  the  principal.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  be 
fore  he  was  twer,^y-one  years  of  age,  and  permitted  to 
practise  in  the  throe  counties  of  Delaware. 

Mr.  M'Kenn  soon  rose  to  eminence  in  his  profession, 
and  attracted  the  attention  of  most  of  the  leading  men  of 
the  clay.  Without  any  solicitation,  01  premonition,  he 
was  appointed,  by  the  Attorney  Gener'dl  of  the  Province, 
his  deputy"  to  prosecute  all  claims  for  the  Crown 
in  the  county  of  Sussex.  He  was  then  only 
twenty-two  years  old.  The  next  year  (1767)  he  was  ad 
mitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  about  the  same  time  the  House  of  Assembly  of  Dela 
ware,  elected  him  their  clerk.  He  declined  a  second 
election  in  1758.  In  1762,  he  was  appointed,  with  Caesar 
Rodney,  to  revise  and  print  the  laws  of  the  Province  en 
acted  during  the  ten  preceding  years.  He  was  elected 
that  year  a  representative  for  New  Castle,  to  the  General 
Assembly.  This  promotion  to  office  was  a  distinguished 
mark  of  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  that  district,  for 
he  had  expressed  a  desire  not  to  be  elected,  and  besides 
that  he  had  been  a  resident  of  Philadelphia  six  years. 
Another  singular  manifestation  of  confidence  in  his  integ 
rity  and  judgment  was  exhibited  by  the  people  of  the 
district,  when,  at  his  urgent  request,  he  was  allowed  to 
relinquish  his  seat  in  the  Legislature.  They  appointed  a 
committee  to  wait  on  him  and  request  him  to  nominate 
seven  proper  men  in  the  district  for  their  representatives. 
This  delicate  office  he  at  first  declined,  but  on  the  request 
being  urgently  repeated,  and  assurances  offered  that  no 
offence  should  be  given,  he  acceded  to  their  desires,  apd 
those  he  named  were  elected  by  large  majorities, 


THOMAS  M'KEAN.  143 

Mr.  M'Kean  was  a  delegate  to  the  "  Stamp  Act  Con 
gress"  in  1765,  and  was  the  associate  upon  a  committee 
with  James  Otis  and  Thomas  Lynch,  in  preparing  an  ad 
dress  to  the  British  House  of  Commons.  For  their  ser 
vices  in  that  Congress,  he  and  his  colleague,  Mr.  Rodney, 
received  the  unanimous  thanks  of  the  Assembly  of  Dela 
ware. 

In  1765,  he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  sole  no 
tary  public  for  the  "  lower  counties  on  the  Delaware," 
and  in  rapid  succession  he  received  the  offices  of  Justice 
of  the  Peace,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and 
Quarter  Sessions,  and  of  the  Orphan  Court.  He,  with  his 
colleagues,  defied  the  Stamp  Act,  by  using  unstamped  pa 
per  in  their  legal  proceedings.  In  1766,  the  governor  of 
New  Jersey,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  that  State,  admitted  him  to  practice  in  any  of  its 
Courts.  In  1769  the  Assembly  of  Delaware  employed 
him  to  proceed  to  New  York  and  obtain  copies  of  histori 
cal  records,  valuable  to  the  former  Province.  In  1771, 
he  was  appointed  Collector  of  the  Customs  for  the  port  of 
New  Castle,  and  the  following  year  he  was  elected  Speaker 
of  the  Assembly  of  Delaware. 

Mr.  M'Kean  zealously  opposed  the  encroachments  of 
British  power  upon  American  rights,  and  he  heartily  con 
curred  in  the  sentiments  of  the  Massachusetts  Circular, 
recommending  a  General  Congress.  He  was  elected  a 
delegate  thereto,  was  present  at  the  opening  on  the  fifth 
of  September,  1774,  and  soon  became  distinguished  as  one 
of  the  most  active  men  in  that  august  body.  He  continued 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  thut  time, 
until  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  in  1783.  Im 
pressed  with  the  conviction  that  reconciliation  with  Great 
Britain  was  out  of  the  question,  he  zealously  supported  the 
measure  which  led  to  a  final  Declaration  of  Indeperid 


144  PEL      ARE. 

ence  ;  and  when  that  Declaration  was  submitted  to  Con 
gress  for  action,  he  voted  for  and  signed  it.* 

In  September,  1776,  (although  then  at  the  head  of  a  reg 
iment  under  Washington  in  New  Jersey,)  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  a  Convention  in  Delaware  to  frame  a  State 
Constitution.f  That  instrument  was  the  production  of 
his  pen,  and  was  adopted^by  a  unanimous  vote. 

Mr.  M'Kean  was  claimed  as  a  citizen  by  both  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Delaware,|  and  he  faithfully  served  them  both, 
for  in  1777,  he  was  Chief  Justice  ojf  the  former,  and 
President  of  the  latter.  In  addition  to  these  offices  he 
was  Speaker  of  the  Delaware  Assembly,  and  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  In  1781,  on  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Huntington,  of  Connecticut,  of  the  office  of  President 
of  Congress,  Mr.  M'Kean  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 
But  he  resigned  the  office  in  November  following,  and 
received  the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his  able  services 
while  presiding  over  that  body.§ 

*  Being  called  away  to  aid  General  Washington  in  New  Jersey,  with  a  regi 
ment  of  "  Philadelphia  Associators,"  (of  which  he  was  colonel,)  immediately  after 
the  rote  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  taken,  Mr.  M'Kean  did  not  sign 
ihe  instrument  until  sometime  in  the  month  of  October  following. 

t  On  receiving  notice  of  his  appointment,  he  set  oft'  for  Dover,  and  on  his  arrival 
was  requested  by  the  Convention  to  draft  a  Constitution.  He  acceded  to  their  re 
quest,  and  before  the  next  morning  the  charter  was  completed. 

J  We  have  several  times  had  occasion  to  mention  the  three  counties  which 
constituted  the  Province  of  Delaware,  sud  the  political  connection  which  seemed  to 
exist  between  it  and  Pennsylvania.  The  following  was  the  relative  position  of  the 
former  to  the  latter.  Delaware  was  originally  included  in  the  grant  made  to  Wil 
liam  Penn,  and  was  a  part  of  Pennsylvania.  But,  in  1691,  the  "  three  Lower  coun 
ties  on  the  Delaware,"  dissatisfied  with  some  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Executive 
Council,  withdrew  from  the  Union,  with  the  reluctant  consent  of  the  proprietor, 
who  appointed  a  deputy  governor  over  them.  The  next  year,  the  Provincial  gov- 
eruioentwas  taken  from  William  Penn,  by  a  royal  commission  to  Governor 
Fletcher,  of  New  York,  whore-united  Delaware  to  Pennsylvania,  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Territory  of  the  three  Lower  Counties  on  the  Delaware."  It  remained 
subordinate  to  Pennsylvania  until  1776,  yet  having  a  separate  Legislature  of  its  own. 

§  During  that  year  he  was  obliged  to  move  his  family  five  times,  to  a^oid  tha 
ma  rauding  enemy  The  next  year  (1788)  party  spirit  running  very  high  in  Penn 
sylvania,  he  found  a  faction  arrayed  against  him,  who  made  an  abortive  attempt 
to  impeach  him.  It  was  like  "  the  viper  biting  a  file." 


THOMAS  M'KEAN.  145 

From  the  period  of  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  Judge 
M'Kean  was  actively  engaged  in  Pennsylvania  and  Dela 
ware  in  various  services  which  the  arrangement  of  dis 
cordant  political  elements  into  a  symmetrical  form  of  gov 
ernment  required ;  and  his  labors  in  aid  of  the  formation 
and  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  were  various 
and  arduous.*  He  continued  in  the  chair  of  Chief  Justice 
of  Pennsylvania  until  1799,  (a  period  of  twenty  years,) 
when  he  was  elected  Governor  of  that  State.  To  this 
office  he  was  elected  three  successive  terms,  and  held  it 
nine  years.  At  the  session  of  1807-8,  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature,  his  opponents  presented  articles  of  impeach 
ment  for  maladministration,  which  closed  with  a  resolution 
that  "  Thomas  M'Kean,  the  Governor  of  the  Common 
wealth,  be  impeached  of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors." 
The  charges  were  brought  fully  before  the  House,  but  by 
the  summary  measure  of  indefinitely  postponing  their  con 
sideration,  they  were  never  acted  upon. 

The  last  public  act  of  Governor  M'Kean,  was  to  preside 
over  the  deliberations  of  the  people  of  Philadelphia,  when, 
during  the  war  with  Great  Britain  in  1812,  that  city  was 
threatened  with  an  attack  from  the  enemy.  He  then 
withdrew  into  private  life,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  June, 
1817,  in  the  eighty -fourth  year  of  his  age. 

*  When  the  war  of  the  Revolution  was  terminated,  and  the  army  disbanded, 
Congress,  which  had  been  powerful  through  its  military  arm,  was  rendered  quite 
Impotent,  for  the  authority  before  concentrated  in  the  National  Legislature,  re 
turned  to  the  individual  States  whence  it  emanated.  Congress  was  burdened 
with  a  foreign  debt  of  eight  millions  of  dollars,  and  a  domestic  debt  of  thirty  mil 
lions,  and  yet,  according  to  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  it  possessed  no  power 
to  liquidate  debts  incurred  during  the  war ;  it  only  possessed  the  pr  vilege  ot 
recommending  to  the  several  States  the  payment  thereof.  The  people  lost  nearly 
ail  regard  for  Congress,  general  indifference  prevailed,  and  a  disposition  to  refuse 
to  pay  any  taxes  whatever  began  to  be  cherished.  General  anarchy  and  confu 
sion  seemed  to  be  the  tendency  of  all  things,  and  the  leading  men  of  the  Revolution 
felt  gloomy  forebodings  for  the  future.  It  was  clearly  seen  that  the  seriov  s  defects 
of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  the  root  of  the  growing  evil,  and  the?  e  convic 
tions  led  to  those  measures  which  finally  wrought  out  the  Federal  Constitution. 


AMUEL   CHASE  was  born  on  the   seven 
teenth  day  of  April,  1741,   in  Somerset 
county,  Maryland.      His    father   was  a 
clergyman   of  the   protestant    episcopal 
church,  and  possessing  an  excellent  edu 
cation  himself,  he  imparted  such  instruc- 
Wrrttrtffiffl.*^     ^OT1  toni's  son  *n  tne  study  of  the  classics, 
'J&$$rf.\$:£":~---      and  in  the  common   branches  of  an  En 
glish  education,  as  well  fitted  him  for  entering  upon  pro 
fessional  life.     He   commenced  the  study  of  law  at   the 
a^e  ^f  eighteen  years,  under  Messrs.  Hammond  and  Elall 

O  O  J 

146 


.SAMUEL  CHASE.  147 

of  Annapolis,  who  stood  at  the  head  of  their  profession 
in  that  section  of  the  province.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  was  admitted  to  practice  before  the  mayor's  court ;  arid 
at  twenty -two  he  became  a  member  of  the  bar,  and  was  al 
lowed  to  practise  in  the  chancery  and  other  colonial  courts. 
He  located  at  Annapolis,  where  he  soon  became  distin 
guished  as  an  advocate,  and  one  of  the  most  successful 
lawyers  in  the  province. 

At  the  early  age  of  twenty  years,  Mr.  Chase  was  cho 
sen  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  and  there  his 
independence  of  feeling  and  action  in  matters  of  principle 
greatly  offended  those  time-serving  legislators  who  fawned 
at  the  feet  of  the  royal  governor.  There  he  first  gave 
evidence  of  that  stamina  of  character  which  he  afterward 
so  strongly  manifested  when  called  upon  to  act  amid  the 
momentous  scenes  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Stamp  Act  aroused  the  energies  of  his  soul  to  do 
battle  for  his  country's  right,  and  he  was  among  the  first 
in  Maryland  who  lifted  up  voice  and  hand  against  the 
oppressor.*  He  became  obnoxious  to  the  authorities  of 
Annapolis,  and  they  attempted,  by  degrading  epithets,  to 
crush  his  eagle  spirit  while  yet  a  fledgling.  But  their 
persecution  extended  his  notoriety,  and  he  soon  became 
popular  with  the  great  mass  of  the  people. 

•Mr.  Chase  was  one  of  the  five  delegates  to  the  first 
Continental  Congress,  in  1774,  appointed  by  a  convention 
of  the  people  of  Maryland.  He  was  also  appointed  by 
the  same  meeting,  one  of  the  "Committee  of  Correspon 
dence"  for  chat  colony. t  These  appointments  made  him 

*  He  was  one  of  a  band  of  young  patriots,  who,  in  imitation  of  those  of  Ma.ssa- 
civasctts,  styled  themselves  "Sons  of  Liberty."  They  opposed  the  operation  of 
the  Stan;p  Act  in  r  TJ  fDrm,  and  evea  went  so  far  as  to  assault  the  Stamp  Of 
fices,  and  destroy  tl_J  Stamps. 

t  These  committees  of  correspondence  constituted  a  powerful  agent  in  the  great 
work  of  the  Revolution.  Their  conception  was  simultaneous  in  Massachusetts 
and  Virginia,  and  both  States  claim  the  honor  jf  priority.  At  first  these  com 
mittoes  were  confined  to  the  larger  cities,  out  very  speedily  every  village  npd 


148  MARYLAND. 

obnoxious  to  the  adherents  to  royalty,  yet  their  good  opin 
ion  was  the  least  thing  he  coveted.  In  the  General  Con 
gress  he  was  bold  and  energetic,  and  even  at  that  early 
day,  he  expressed  his  sentiments  freely  in  favor  of  absolute 
independence.  This  feeling,  however,  was  not  general 
in  the  colonies,  and  the  people  were  desirous  of  reconci 
liation  by  righteous  means,  rather  than  independence. 

Mr.  Chase  was  again  elected  to  Congiess  in  1775,  and 
with  his  usual  zeal,  he  was  active  in  promoting  every 
measure  for  strengthening  the  military  force  of  the  coun 
try,  then  concentrated  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  He  was 
also  a  delegate  in  1776,  and  in  the  meanwhile  he  had 
used  his  growing  influence  and  popularity  to  the  utter 
most  in  endeavoring  to  have  the  Maryland  convention 
remove  its  restrictive  instructions  by  which  its  delegates 
were  prohibited  from  voting  in  favor  of  independence. 
This  restriction  was  a  galling  yoke  for  him  to  bear,  and 
he  was  very  restiff  under  it. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1776,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a 
committee  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  Charles  Carroll,  to  go 
un  a  mission  to  Canada,  the  chief  object  of  which  was  to 
effect  a  concurrence,  in  that  province,  with  the  movements 
in  the  other  English  colonies.  The  mission,  however, 
proved  a  failure,  and  on  his  return  to  his  seat  in  Congress 
he  found  the  subject  of  independence  before  that  body. 
He  was  warmly  in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  to  his  great 
joy  and  satisfaction,  Maryland  lifted  her  restrictions  and 
left  her  representatives  free  to  vote  as  they  liked.  Mr, 
Chase  of  course  gave  his  vote  for  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  and  signed  the  instrument  with  a  willing  hand. 

hamlet  had  its  auxiliary  committees,  and  the  high  moral  tone  evinced  by  the 
Chiefs,  ran  through  all  the  gradations,  from  the  polished  committees  appointed  by 
Colonial  Assemblies,  to  the  rustic,  yet  not  the  least  patriotic  ones  of  the  interior 
towns  ;  and  through  these  made  an  impression  upon  the  whole  American  people. 
Thus  the  patriot  heart  of  America,  at  this  crisis,  (1773.)  beat  as  *vith  one  pulsation, 
and  the  public  mind  was  fully  prepared  to  act  with  promptness  and  decision 
when  circumstances  should  ral1  for  action. — "  177Q,"  page  105. 


SAMUEL  CHASE.  145 

He  continued  a  member  of  Congress  until  in  1778,  and 
was  almost  constantly  employed  in  the  duties  of  most 
important  committees.  Some  of  these  were  of  a  delicate 
and  trying  nature,  yet  he  never  allowed  his  sensibility  to 
control  his  judgment,  or  shake  his  firmness  of  purpose.* 
His  private  affairs  demanding  his  attention,  Mr.  Chase 
withdrew  from  Congress  toward  the  close  of  1778,  and 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Annapolis 
He  was  engaged  but  little  in  public  affairs  for  several 
years,  and  it  was  not  until  1788,  about  ten  years  after  he 
retired  from  Congress,  that  he  again  appeared  in  the  arena 
of  the  political  world.  He  was  then  appointed  Chief  Justice 
of  the  criminal  court  for  the  newly  organized  judicial  dis 
trict  of  Baltimore. t  He  was  that  year  chosen  a  member 
of  the  state  convention  of  Maryland,  called  to  consider  the 
ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  about  the 
same  time  he  received  and  accepted  the  appointment  of 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state.  In 
1796,  President  Washington  nominated  him  a  judge  of 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  which  nomi 
nation  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  He  held  the  office 
about  fifteen  years,  and  no  man  ever  stood  higher  for 
honesty  of  purpose  and  integrity  of  motives,  than  Judge 

*•  He  was  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  by  Congress  to  act  in  relation  to 
those  Americans  who  gave  "  aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy ;"  and  it  was  his  pain 
ful  duty  to  recommend  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  various  persons  of 
this  class,  among  whom  were  several  wealthy  Quakers  of  Philadelphia.  An  in 
stance  of  his  fearlessness  in  the  performance  of  his  duty,  may  be  properly  men 
tioned  here.  During  the  summer  of  1776,  Reverend  Doctor  Zubly  was  a  delegate 
in  Congress  from  Georgia.  By  some  means  Mr.  Chase  discovered  that  he  was  in 
^ecret  correspondence  with  the  royal  governor  of  Georgia.  lie  immediately  rose 
in  his  place  and  denounced  Doctor  Zubly  as  a  traitor,  before  all  the  members  ol 
the  House.  Zubly  fled,  and  was  pursued,  but  without  success. 

t  Mr.  Chase  had  moved  from  Annapolis  to  Baltimore,  on  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  Colonel  Howard,  one  of  the  largest  property  holders  in  the  vicinity  of  that  city. 
He  ottered  to  Mr.  Chase  one  full  square  for  city  building  lots,  if  he  would  make 
Baltimore  his  residence.  The  offer  was  accepted,  the  property  was  conveyed  tc 
hira,  and  now,  being  within  the  city,  .  -ery  valuable.  It  is  in  the  possession  of  th 
descendants  of  Judge  Chase. 


150  MARYLAND. 

Chase.  Notwithstanding  the  rancor  of  such  party  feeling 
as  dared  to  charge  President  Washington  with  appropri 
ating  the  public  money  to  his  own  private  use,  did  all  in 
its  power  to  pluck  the  ermine  from  his  shoulders,*  yet  his 
purity  beamed  the  brighter,  as  the  clouds  grew  darker, 
and  he  lived  to  hear  the  last  whisper  of  calumny  flit  by 
like  a  bat  in  th^  morning  twilight.  His  useful  life  termi 
nated  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  June,  1S11,  when  he  was 
in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age. 

Judge  Chase  was  a  man  of  great  benevolence  of  feel- 
ingt  and  in  all  his  walks,  he  exemplified  the  beauties  of 
Christianity,  of  which  he  was  a  sincere  professor.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  communicant  in  St.  Paul's 
church  in  Baltimore,  the  parish  of  which,  when  he  was  a 
child,  his  father  had  pastoral  charge. 

*  His  political  and  personal  opponents  procured  his  impeachment  in  1804,  for 
malconduct  on  the  bench.  He  was  tried  and  honorably  acquitted,  to  the  shame 
and  confusion  of  his  enemies. 

t  We  cannot  forbear  relating  an  instance  in  which  this  characteristic  was  dis 
played.  Being  on  a  visit  to  Baltimore,  about  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  curiosity 
led  him  to  a  debating  society,  where  he  was  struck  by  the  eloquence  of  a  young 
man,  a  druggist's  clerk.  He  ascertained  his  name,  sought  an  interview,  and  ad 
vised  him  to  study  law.  The  youth  stated  frankly  that  his  poverty  was  an  insu 
perable  impediment  in  the  way.  Mr.  Chase  at  once  offered  him  a  seat  at  his  table 
and  free  access  to  his  extensive  library.  The  young  man  gratefully  accepted  the 
kind  offer,  went  th«>ugh  a  course  of  legal  studies,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
after  passing  an  examination  with  distinguished  ability.  That  young  man  w&i 
William  Pinkney,  afterward  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States .  and  minis 
ter  for  the  same  at  the  Court  of  Great  Britain. 


ANY  of  those  bold  patriots  who  pledged 
life,  fortune,  and  honor,  in  support  of 
[lithe  independence  of  the  United  States 
ipof  America,  left  behind  them  but  few 
p  written  memorials  of  the  scenes  in 
which  they  took  a  conspicuous  part, 
and  hence  the  biographers  who  first  en 
gaged  in  the  task  of  delineating  the  characters  and  acts 
of  those  men,  were  obliged  to  find  their  materials  in  scat 
tered  fragments  among  public  records,  or  from  the  lips  of 
surviving  relations  or  compatriots.  Such  was  the  case  of 
Thomas  Stone,  the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch,  whose  i:n 

151 


152  MARYLAND. 

assuming  manners  and  attachment  to  domestic  life  kept 
him  in  apparent  obscurity  except  when  called  forth  by 
the  commands  of  duty. 

Thomas  Stone  was  born  at  the  Pointoin  Manor,  in 
the  Province  of  Maryland,  in  the  year  1743.  After  re 
ceiving  a  good  English  education,  and  some  knowledge 
of  the  classics,  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  commenced  its  practice. 
Where  he  began  business  in  his  profession,  is  not  certainly 
known,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  Annapolis. 

Although  quite  unambitious  of  personal  fame,  he  never 
theless,  from  the  impulses  of  a  patriotic  heart,  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  patriots  and  took  an  active  part  $n  the 
movements  preliminary  to  the  calling  of  the  first  Gene 
ral  Congress  in  1774.  He  was  elected  one  of  the  first 
five  delegates  thereto  from  that  state,  and  after  actively 
performing  his  duties  throughout  that  first  short  session,* 
he  again  retired  to  private  life.  But  his  talents  and  pa 
triotism  had  become  too  conspicuous  for  his  fellow  citizens 
to  allow  him  to  remain  inactive,  and  toward  the  latter 
part  of  1775,  he  was  again  elected  to  the  General  Con 
gress.  As  we  have  before  observed,  the  people  of  Mary 
land,  although  warmly  opposed  to  the  oppressive  mea 
sures  of  the  British  government,  and  determined  in  main 
taining  their  just  rights,  yet  a  large  proportion  of  them 
were  too  much  attached  to  the  mother- country,  to  harbor 
a  thought  of  political  independence.  They  therefore  in 
structed  their  delegates  not  to  vote  for  such  a  proposition, 
and  thus  Mr.  Stone,  like  his  colleagues,  who  were  all  for 
independence,  felt  themselves  fettered  by  an  onerous 

*  The  first  Continental  Congress  convened  on  the  fourth  day  of  September,  1774, 
and  adjourned  on  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  October  following  —  a  session  of  only 
fifty-two  days.  Yet  within  that  time  they  organized,  or  made  provisions  for  those 
efficient  movements  which  afterward  took  place  in  favor  of  freedom ;  and  they 
sent  forth  to  the  world  those  able  addresses  and  petitions,  which  so  much  excited 
the  admiration  of  the  statesmen  of  Europe. — See  note,  Life  of  Philip  Livingston 


THOMAS   STONE.  153 

bond.  But  the  restriction  was  removed  in  June,  1776, 
and  Mr.  Stone,  like  Paca  and  others,  voted  for  and  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  And  it  is  worthy  of 
lecord  that  on  the  fourth  of  July,  the  very  day  on  which 
the  vote  for  Independence  was  given,  Mr.  Stone  arid  his 
colleagues  from  Maryland,  were  re-elected  by  the  unani 
mous  voice  of  the  same  convention,  which,  about  six 
weeks  previously  forbade  them  thus  to  act. 

The  unobtrusive  character  of  Mr.  Stone  kept  him  from 
becoming  a  very  prominent  member  of  Congress,  yet  his 
great  good  sense  and  untiring  industry  in  the  business  of 
important  committees,  rendered  him  a  very  useful  one. 
He  was  one  of  the  committee  who  framed  the  Articles 
of  Confederation,  which  were  finally  adopted  in  Novem 
ber,  1777.  He  was  again  elected  to  Congress  that  year, 
and  finally  retired  from  it  early  in  1778,  and  entered  the 
Legislature  of  his  own  State,  where  he  earnestly  advocated 
the  adoption,  by  that  body,  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion.  The  Maryland  Legislature  was  too  strongly  im 
bued  with  the  ultra  principles  of  State  rights  and  absolute 
independence  of  action  to  receive  with  favor  the  propo 
sition  for  a  general  political  Union,  with  Congress  for  a 
Federal  head,  and  it  was  not  until  1781  that  that  State 
agreed  to  the  confederation. 

Mr.  Stone  was  again  elected  to  Congress  in  1783,  and 
was  present  when  General  Washington  resigned  his  mili 
tary  commission  into  the  hands  of  that  body.  In  1784, 
ne  was  appointed  President  of  Congress,  pro  tempore  ; 
and  had  not  his  native  modesty  supervened,  he  would 
doubtless  have  been  regularly  elected  to  that  important 
station,  then  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people. 
On  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  he  returned  to  his  con 
stituents  and  resumed  the  duties  of  his  profession  at  Port 
Tobacco,  the  place  of  his  residence,  where  he  died,  on  the 
fiith  of  October,  \  787,  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  bis  age. 


ILLIAM  PACA  was  the  descendant  of 
a  wealthy  planter  on  the  east  shore  of 
Maryland.  He  was  born  at  Wye  Hall, 
his  paternal  residence,  in  the  year 
1740.  His  early  moral  and  intellec 
tual  training  was  carefully  attended  to,  and  at  a  proper 
age  he  was  placed  in  the  Philadelphia  College,  whence 
he  graduated,  after  a  course  of  arduous  and  profitable 
study,  with  great  credit  to  himself.  He  then  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law  with  Mr.  Hammond  and  Mr.  Hall, 
of  Annapolis,  and  Samuel  Chase,  his  subsequent  Congres 
sional  colleague,  was  a  fellow  student. 

154 


WILLIAM   PACA.  155 

Mr.  Paca,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  age  of  twenty, 
and  the  next  year  (1761),  he  was  chosen  a  member  of 
the  Provincial  Assembly.  When  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1765, 
aroused  the  people  of  the  colonies  to  their  common  dan- 
ger,  Mr.  Paca,  with  Mr.  Chase  and  Mr.  Carroll,  warmly 
opposed  its  operation.  And  every  succeeding  measure 
of  the  British  government,  asserting  its  right  to  tax  the 
Americans  without  their  consent,  was  fearlessly  con 
demned  by  him,  and  thus  he  soon  obtained  the  disappro 
bation  of  the  royal  governor  of  the  Province,  and  of  those 
who  adhered  to  the  king  and  parliament.  Like  Mr 
Chase,  he  became  very  popular  with  the  people  by  his 
patriotic  conduct. 

He  approved  of  the  proposition  for  a  General  Con 
gress  in  1774,  and  he  zealously  promoted  the  meeting 
of  the  people  in  county  conventions  to  express  their  sen 
timents  upon  this  point.  He  was  appointed  by  a  State 
Convention  of  Maryland,  one  of  its  five  representatives  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  who  were  instructed  to  "  agree 
to  all  measures  which  might  be  deemed  necessary  to  ob 
tain  a  redress  of  American  grievances."  Mr.  Paca  was 
re-elected  in  1775,  arid  continued  a  member  of  Congress 
until  1778,  when  he  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  his  state. 

Like  Mr.  Chase,  Mr.  Paca  was  much  embarrassed  in 
Congress  by  the  opposition  of  his  constituents  to  indepen 
dence,  and  their  loyal  adherence  to  the  British  Crown,  as 
manifested  in  their  instructions,  frequently  repeated  in  the 
early  part  of  1776.*  Even  as  late  as  the  middle  of  May, 
they  passed  a  resolution  prohibiting  their  delegates  from 
voting  for  independence ;  but  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  the 

*  The  people  of  Maryland,  as  represented  in  its  State  Convention,  were  alarmed 

lest  their  enthusiastic  delegates  should  favor  independence,  and  early  in   1776 

they  sent  them  instructions,  in  which  they  forbade  their  voting  for  such  a  mea» 

ire.    They  also  passed  a  resolution  "  that  Maryland  would  not  be  bound  by  a  vote 

it' a  majority  of  Congress  to  declare  independence," 


156  *1  ARYf.A.YM. 

same  month  a  remarkable  change  in  '.heir  opinions  took 
place,  and  they  ceased  praying  for  the  king  and  royal  fam 
ily  !  This  was  a  sort  of  half  wheel,  and  toward  the  latter 
part  of  June  the  convention  finished  its  evolutions  by  a 
"  right  about  face"  and  withdrew  their  restrictions  upon  the 
votes  of  their  delegates.  Thus  relieved,  Mr.  Paca  and 
his  associates  continued  their  efforts  to  effect  a  decla 
ration  of  independence  with  more  zeal  than  ever,  and  re 
corded  their  votes  for  the  severance  of  the  political  bond 
of  union  with  Britain,  on  the  fourth  of  July  following. 
On  the  second  of  August,  they  fearlessly  affixed  their 
signatures  to  the  parchment. 

About  the  beginning  of  1778,  Mr.  Paca  was  appointed 
Chief  Justice  of  the  State  of  Maryland.  He  performed 
the  duties  with  great  ability  and  fidelity  until  1782,  when 
he  was  elected  President  or  Governor  of  the  State,  under 
the  old  Articles  of  Confederation.-  He  held  the  executive 
office  one  year;  and  then  retired  to  private  life. 

In  1788,  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  Mary 
land,  called  to  act  upon  the  ratification  of  the  Federal 
Constitution.  He  was  a  firm  advocate  there  for  its  rati 
fication,  which  event  took  place  in  November.  After 
the  New  Constitution  had  gone  into  effect,  and  offices 
under  it  were  to  be  filled,  President  Washington  nomina 
ted  him  Judge  for  the  district  of  Maryland.*1 
c  .  This  office  he  held  until  the  period  of  his  death, 
which  was  in  the  year  1799,  when  he  was  in  the  sixtieth 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  pure  and  active  patriot,  a 
consistent  Christian,  and  a  valuable  citizen,  in  every 
sense  of  the  word.  His  death  was  mourned  as  a  public 
calamity  ;  and  his  life,  pure  and  spotless,  active  and  use 
ful,  exhibited  a  bright  exemplar  for  the  imitation  of  the 
young  men  cf  America. 


HARLES  CARROLL  was  descended  from  Irish 
ancestry.  His  grandfather,  Daniel  Carroll, 
was  a  native  of  Littemourna,  in  Ireland,  ari(? 
was  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  Lord  Powis,  in 
the  reign  of  James  the  Second.  Under  the 
patronage  <  f  Lord  Baltimore,  the  principal  proprietor  of 
Maryland,  Mr.  Carroll  emigrated  to  that  Colony  toward 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  became  the  pos 
sessor  of  a  large  plantation.  His  son  Charles,  the  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born  in  1702,  and  lived 


158  MARYLAND. 

co  the  age  of  eighty  years,  when  he  died  and  left  his  large 
estate  to  his  eldest  child,  Charles,  who  was  then  twenty- 
five  years  old. 

Charles  Carroll,  the  Revolutionary  patriot,  was  born  ,m 
the  twentieth  of  September,  1737.  When  he  was  only 
eight  5  ears  of  age,  his  father,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
took  him  to  France,  and  entered  him  as  a  student  in  the 
Jesuit  College  at  St.  Omer's.  There  he  remained  six 
years,  and  then  went  to  another  Jesuit  seminary  of  learn 
ing,  at  Rheims.  After  remaining  there  one  year,  He  en 
tered  the  College  of  Louis  le  Grand,  whence  he  gradu 
ated  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  and  then  commenced 
the  study  of  law  at  Bourges.  He  remained  at  Bourges 
one  year,  and  then  moved  to  Paris,  where  he  continued 
until  1757.  He  then  went  to  London  for  the  purpose  of 
continuing  his  law  studies  there.  He  took  apartments  in 
the  Inner  Temple,  where  he  remained  until  1765,  and 
then  returned  to  Maryland,  a  most  finished  scholar  arid 
well-bred  gentleman. 

The  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  about  the  time  that  he 
returned  to  America,  arrested  his  attention  and  turned 
his  mind  more  intently  upon  political  affairs,  of  which  he 
had  not,  for  some  time,  been  an  indifferent  spectator.  He 
at  once  espoused  the  cause  of  the  American  patriots,  and 
became  associated  with  Chase,  Paca,  Stone,  and  others, 
in  the  various  patriotic  movements  of  the  day.  They  be 
came  engaged  in  a  newspaper  war  with  the  authorities  of 
Maryland,  and  so  powerfully  did  these  patriots  wield  the 
pen,  that  their  discomfited  opponents  soon  beat  a  retreat 
behind  the  prerogatives  and  power  of  the  royal  governor. 
Mr.  Carroll  was  particularly  distinguished  as  a  political 
writer,  and  in  1771-'72,his  name,  as  such,  became  familial 
in  the  other  Colonies. 

In  1772,  he  wrote  a  series  of  essays  against  the  assumed 
right  of  the  British  o-overnment  to  tax  the  Colonies  with 


CHARLES   CARROLL.  159 

out  their  consent.  The  Secretary  of  the  Colony  wrote  in 
opposition  to  them,  but  Mr.  Carroll  triumphed  most  em 
phatically.  His  essays  were  signed  "  The  First  Citizen," 
and  the  name  of  the  author  was  entirely  unknown.  But 
BO  grateful  were  the  people  for  the  noble  defence  of  thek 
cause  which  these  papers  contained,  that  they  instructed 
the  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Maryland,  to 
return  their  hearty  thanks  to  the  unknown  writer,  through 
the  public  prints  This  was  done  by  William  Paca,  and 
Matthew  Hammond.  "When  it  became  known  that  Mr. 
Carroll  was  the  writer,  large  numbers  of  people  went  to 
him  and  expressed  their  thanks  personally,  and  he  at  once 
stood  among  the  highest  in  popular  confidence  and  favor. 

Mr.  Carroll  early  foresaw  that  a  resort  to  arms  in  de 
fence  of  Colonial  rights,  was  inevitable,  and  this  opinion 
he  fearlessly  expressed.  His  decided  character,  his  stern 
integrity,  and  his  clear  judgment,  made  him  an  umpire  in 
many  momentous  cases,*  and  in  every  step  he  ascended 
higher  and  higher  the  scale  of  popular  favor.  He  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  first  Committee  of  Safety  of 
Maryland  ;  and  in  1775,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly.  His  known  sentiments  in  favor  of 
independence  were  doubtless  the  cause  of  his  not  being 
sooner  sent  to  the  General  Congress,  for,  as  we  have  al 
ready  seen,  the  Maryland  Convention  were  opposed  to 
that  extreme  measure. 

Anxious  to   witness  the  men    and  their  proceedings  in 

*  As  an  instance  of  the  entire  confidence  which  the  people  had  in  his  judgment, 
it  is  related,  that  when,  in  1773-'4,  the  "tea  excitement"  was  at  its  height,  a  Mr.  Stew 
art  of  Annapolis,  imported  a  quantity  of  the  obnoxious  article.  The  people  were 
exasperated,  and  threatened  to  destroy  the  tea  if  landed.  The  Provincial  Legisla 
ture  being  then  in  session,  appointed  a  committee  of  delegates  to  superintend  ihe 
unlading  of  the  cargo  and  see  that  no  tea  was  landed.  With  this  the  people  were 
not  satisfied,  and  Mr.  Stewart  appealed  to  Mr.  Carroll  to  interpose  his  influence. 
The  latter  told  him  it  would  be  impossible  to  have  any  effect  upon  the  public 
mind  in  this  matter,  where  such  an  important  principle  was  concerned,  and  hi 
advised  Mr,  Stewart  to  allow  the  vessel  and  cargo  to  be  burned.  This  advice  M* 
Ktewart  followed,  and  by  his  consent  the  conflagration  took  place. 


160  MARYLAND. 

the  Continental  Congress,  he  visited  Philadelphia  for  the 
purpose,  early  in  1776,  and  so  favorably  was  he  known 
there,  that  Congress  placed  him  on  a  committee,  with 
Doctor  Franklin  and  Samuel  Chase,  to  visit  Canada  on 
an  important  mission,  the  object  of  which  we  have  men 
tioned  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Chase.  On  his  return,  finding 
Mr.  Lee's  motion  for  independence  before  Congress,  he 
hastened  to  Maryland,  to  endeavor,  if  possible,  to  have 
the  restrictive  instructions  which  governed  her  delegates 
in  the  National  Assembly,  removed.  In  this  he  was  suc 
cessful,  and  when  the  prohibition  was  removed,  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  With 
instructions  to  vote  as  the  judgment  of  the  delegates  should 
lictate,  Mr.  Carroll  proceeded  to  Philadelphia,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  eighth  of  July,  top  late  to  vote  for  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,*  but  in  ample  time  to  affix 
his  signature  to  the  parchment. 

Ten  days  after  he  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  Mr.  Car 
roll  was  placed  upon  the  Board  of  War,  and  continued  a 
member  of  the  same  during  his  continuance  in  that  body. 
He  was  at  the  same  time  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of 
Maryland,  and  all  the  time  which  he  could  spare  from  his 
duties  at  Philadelphia,  he  spent  in  the  active  service  of 
his  own  State.  He  was  appointed,  in  1776,  a  member  of 
the  Convention  that  framed  a  Constitution  for  Maryland  as 
an  independent  State,  and  after  its  adoption,  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  State  Senate. 

Mr.  Carroll  continued  a  member  of  Congress  until  17S8, 
when  he  relinquished  his  seat,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
interests  of  his  native  State.  He  was  again  elected  to  the 

*  The  question  naturally  arises,  Why  did  Mr.  Carroll  append  to  his  signatuie 
the  place  of  his  residence,  "Carrolltoa"?  It  is  said  that  when  ne  wrote  his  name, 
a  delegate  near  him  suggested,  that  as  he  had  a  cousin  of  the  name  of  Charles 
Carroll,  in  Maryland,  the  latter  might  he  taken  for  him,  and  be  (the  signtr)  « 
cape  attainder,  or  any  other  punishment  that  might  fall  upon  lha  heads  of  tha 
patriots.  Mr. Carroll  immediately  seized  the  pen,  and  wrote  "of  Carroll! m"  at 
the  end  of  hla  name,  exclaiming  "  They  cannot  mistake  me  now" 


CHARLES   CARROLL.  161 

Senate  of  Maryland,  in  1781,  and  continued  a  member  of 
that  body  until  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 
In  December,  1788,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
first  United  States  Senate  for  Maryland.  He  remained 
there  two  years,  and  in  1791  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  Maryland,  where  he  continued  until  180 1,  when, 
by  the  machinations  of  the  strong  party  feeling  of  the  day, 
he  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for  re-election.  He  then 
retired  from  public  life,  being  sixty -four  years  of  age  ; 
and  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  amid  the  quiet 
pleasures  of  domestic  retirement,  where  his  children's 
children,  and  even  their  children  grew  up  around  him  like 
olive  plants.  He  lived,  honored  and  revered  by  the  Re 
public  with  whose  existence  he  was  identified,  until  1832, 
and  was  the  last  survivor  of  the  fifty-six  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  He  died  at  Baltimore,  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  November,  1832,  in  the  ninety- 
sixth  year  of  his  age. 

For  a  long  term  of  years,  Mr.  Carroll  was  regarded  by 
the  people  of  this  country  with  the  greatest  veneration, 
for,  when  Jefferson  and  Adams  died,  he  was  the  last  ves 
tige  that  remained  upon  earth  of  that  holy  brotherhood, 
who  stood  sponsor  at  the  baptism  in  blood  of  our  infant 
Republic.  The  good  and  the  great  made  pilgrimages  to 
his  dwelling,  to  behold,  with  their  own  eyes,  the  venerable 
political  patriarch  of  America,  and  from  the  rich  store 
house  of  his  intellect,  he  freely  contributed  to  the  defi 
ciencies  of  others.  "  His  mind  was  highly  cultivated.  He 
was  always  a  model  of  regularity  of  conduct,  and  sedate- 
ness  of  judgment.  In  natural  sagacity,  in  refinement  of 
caste  and  pleasures,  in  unaffected  and  habitual  courtesy, 
in  vigilant  observation,  vivacity  of  spirit,  and  true  suscep 
tibility  of  domestic  and  social  happiness,  in  the  best  forms, 
he  had  but  few  equals  during  the  greater  part  of  his  long 
and  bright  existence,' 


' 


EORGE  WYTHE  was  one  of  Virginia  s 
most  distinguished  sons.  He  was  borr 
in  the  year  1726,  in  Elizabeth  county, 
izz  and  being  the  child  of  wealthy  parents, 
^le  kad  every  opportunity  given  him 
which  the  colony  afforded  for  acquiring 
a  good  education.  His  father  died  when 
he  was  quite  young,  and  his  education  and  moral  train 
ing  devolved  upon  his  mother,  a  woman  of  superior  abili 
ties.  She  was  very  proficient  in  the  Latin  language, 
and  she  aided  hiro  much  in  the  study  of  the  classics.  But 

162 


GEORGE   WYTHE.  163 

before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  death  deprived  him 
of  her  guidance  and  instruction  ;  and  he  was  left  at  that 
early  period  of  life  with  a  large  fortune  and  the  entire  con 
trol  of  his  own  actions.  His  character  not  having  become 
fixed,  he  launched  out  upon  the  dangerous  sea  of  pleasure 
and  dissipation,  and  for  ten  years  of  the  morning  of  his  life 
he  laid  aside  study  and  sought  only  personal  gratification 

AVhen  about  thirty  years  of  age,  a  sudden  change  was 
wrought  in  him,  and  he  forsook  the  places  of  revelry  and 
ihe  companionship  of  the  thoughtless  and  gay,  and  re 
sumed  the  studies  of  his  youth  with  all  the  ardor  of  one 
anxious  to  make  up  lost  time.  He  mourned  over  his  mis 
spent  days,  even  in  his  old  age  which  was  clustered  round 
with  honors,  and  he  felt  intensely  the  truth  of  the  asser 
tion  that  "  time  once  lost,  is  lost  forever."  He  at  once 
commenced  a  course  of  study,  preparatory  to  entering 
upon  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  he  became  a  stu 
dent  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Jones,  then  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  lawyers  in  the  colony.  He  was  admitted  tc 
the  bar  in  1757,  and  rose  rapidly  to  eminence,  not  only 
as  an  able  advocate,  but  as  a  strictly  conscientious  one, 
for  he  would  never  knowingly  engage  in  an  unjust  cause. 
Strict  in  all  his  business  relations,  and  honorable  to  the 
last  degree,  he  was  honored  with  the  full  confidence  of 
the  people  of  Virginia,  and  when  that  state  organized 
an  independent  government  pursuant  to  the  recommen 
dations  of  Congress,  Mr.  Wythe  was  appointed  Chancel 
lor  of  the  State,  then  the  highest  judicial  office  in  the  gift 
of  the  people.  That  office  he  held  during  his  life. 

For  several  years  prior  to  the  Revolution,  Mr.  "Wytho 
was  a  member  of  the  Vnginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and 
when  the  Stamp  Act  aroused  the  patriotic  resistance 
of  the  people,  he  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  that  As 
sembly  with  Patrick  Henry,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  Peyton 
Randolph  and  others,  who  were  distinguished  as  leaders 


1C4  VIRGINIA. 

in  legislation  when  the  storm  of  the  War  of  Indepen 
dence  burst  upon  the  land., 

In  1775,  Mr.  Wythe  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Gene 
ral  Congress,  and  was  there  in  1776,  when  his  colleague, 
Mr.  Lee  submitted  his  bold  resolution  for  Independence 
He  steadfastly  promoted  every  measure  tending  tow&rd 
such  a  result,  and  he  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration 
of  Independence.  During  the  autumn  of  that  year,  he 
was  associated  with  Thomas  Jefferson  and  Edmund 
Pendleton  in  codifying  the  laws  of  Virginia,  to  make  them 
conformable  to  the  newly  organized  government.  This 
duty  was  performed  with  singular  ability. 

In  1777,  he  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  of  Virginia,  and  the  same  year  he  was  elevated  to 
the  bench  as  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the  high  court  of 
Chancery.  When  the  new  court  of  Chancery  was  orga 
nized,  he  was  appointed  sole  judge,  and  occupied  that 
bench  with  great  ability  for  twenty  years.  Always  firm 
in  his  decisions,  which  were  never  made  without  serious 
investigation  arid  analysis,  he  seldom  gave  dissatisfaction, 
even  to  the  defeated  party.*  For  a  while  he  was  profes 
sor  of  law  in  the  college  of  William  and  Mary,  but  when, 
he  removed  to  Richmond,  he  found  it  impracticable  to 
attend  to  its  duties,  and  he  resigned  the  office. t 

In  1786,  Mr.  Wythe  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  Na 
tional  Convention  that  framed  the  Federal  Constitution. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Virginia  convention  called 
to  consider  its  adoption,  and  was  twice  chosen  a  United 
States  Senator  under  it.  Notwithstanding  the  constant 

*  lie  was  called  upon  to  make  tl  e  first  decision  on  the  important  question 
whether  debts  contracted  by  persons  In  the  United  States  to  men  in  Great  Britain, 
were  or  were  not  recoverable  by  law.  The  general  feeling  in  the  public  mind  was 
with  the  negative  side  of  the  question,  but  Chancellor  Wythe,  after  patiently  in 
vestigating  the  whole  matter,  fearlessly  gave  his  opinion  that  such  debts  wer« 
binding,  and  legally  recoverable. 

t  Chancellor  Wythe  had  the  honor  of  being  the  law  instructor  of  two  of  thf 
Presidents,  and  one  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 


«EORGE   WYTHE.  165 

demand  upon  his  time,  which  the  duties  of  his  official  sta 
tion  made,  he  opened  and  taught  a  private  school,  free  to 
those  who  chose  to  attend  it.  Among  other  pupils  was  a 
negro  boy  belonging  to  him,  whom  he  taught  Latin,  and 
he  was  preparing  to  give  him  a  thorough  education,  when 
both  he  and  the  boy  died.  This  occurrence  took  place 
the  eighth  day  of  June,  1800,  when  Mr.  Wythe  was  in 
the  eighty-first  year  of  his  age.  His  death  was  sudden 
and  was  believed  to  have  been  caused  by  poison  placed 
in  his  food  by  a  near  relative.  That  person  was  tried  for 
the  crime,  but  acquitted.  The  negro  boy  alluded  to,  par 
took  of  the  same  food,  and  died  a  short  time  previous  to 
his  master. 

Mr.  Wythe  was  a  man  of  great  perseverance  and  in 
dustry,  kind  and  benevolent  to  the  utmost  ;*  was  strict  in 
his  integrity,  sincere  in  every  word,  faithful  in  every 
trust ;  and  his  life  presents  a  striking  example  of  the  force 
of  good  resolution  triumphing  over  the  seductions  of  plea 
sure  and  vice,  and  the  attainments  which  persevering  and 
virtuous  toil  will  bring  to  the  practician  of  these  necessa 
ry  ingredients  for  the  establishment  of  an  honorable  repu 
tation,  and  in  the  labors  of  a  useful  life. 

Mr.  Wythe  was  twice  married,  but  he  left  no  offspring, 
an  only  child,  by  his  first  wife,  having  died  in  infancy. 

*  During  his  lifetime  he  manumitted  all  of  his  adult  slaves,  and  he  provided  for 
the  freedom  of  the  younger  ones,  who  were  his  property  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  also  made  provision  in  his  will  for  the  support  of  a  man,  woman,  and  child, 
unti  whum  he  had  given  freedom. 


HENRY  LEE  was  a  scion  of  the  no 
blest  stock  of  Virginia  gentlemen.     Could 
ancestral  dignity  and  renown  add  aught  to 
the  coronal  that  enwreathes  the  urn  of  his 
memory,  it  is  fully  entitled  to  it,  for  his  re 
lations  for  several  generations  were  distin 
guished  for  wealth,  intellect  and  virtue. 
Richard  Henry  Lee  was  born  in  the  county  of  West 
moreland,  Virginia,   on    the  twentieth    day  of  January, 
1732.  within  a  month  of  tl'me,  and  within  a  few  miles  space 

1GC 


UICHARL)    HKiVRY   JLKh.  167 

of  the  great  and  good  Washington.  According  to  the 
fashion  of  the  time  in  the  "  Old  Dominion,"  his  father  sent 
him  to  England,  nt  an  early  age  to  be  educated.  He  was 
placed  in  a  school  at  Wakefield,  in  Yorkshire,  where  ho 
soon  became  marked  as  a  thoughtful  and  industrious  stu 
dent.  Ancient  history,  especially  that  part  which  treats 
of  the  republics  of  the  old  world,  engaged  his  close  atten 
tion  ;  and  he  read  with  avidity,  every  scrap  of  history  of 
that  character,  which  fell  in  his  way.  Thus  he  was  early 
indoctrinated  with  the  ideas  of  republicanism,  and  before 
the  season  of  adolescence  had  passed,  he  was  warmly  at 
tached  to  those  principles  of  civil  liberty,  which  he  after 
ward  so  manfully  contended  for. 

Young  Lee  returned  to  Virginia  when  nearly  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  there  applied  himself  zealously  to  lite 
rary  pursuits.  He  was  active  in  all  the  athletic  exercises 
of  the  day  ;  and  when  about  twenty  years  of  age,  his  love 
of  activity  led  him  to  the  formation  of  a  military  corps,  to 
the  command  of  which,  he  was  elected,  and  he  first 
appeared  in  public  life  in  1755,  when  Braddock  ar 
rived  from  England,  and  summoned  the  colonial  Gover 
nor  to  meet  him  in  council,  previous  to  his  starting  on  an 
expedition  against  the  French  and  Indians  upon  the  Ohio. 
Mr.  Lee  presented  himself  there,  and  tendered  the  servi 
ces  of  himself  and  his  volunteers,  to  the  British  General. 
The  haughty  Braddock  proudly  refused  to  accept  the  ser 
vices  of  those  plain  volunteers,  deeming  the  disciplined 
troops  whom  he  brought  with  him,  quite  sufficient  to 
drive  the  invading  Frenchmen  from  the  English  domain.* 

*  Braddock  did  indeed  accept  the  services  of  Major  Washington  and  a  force  ol 
Virginia  militia,  p^d  had  he  listened  to  the  advice  of  the  young  Virginia  soldier, 
he  might  not  only  have  avoided  the  disastrous  defeat  at  the  Great  Meadows,  hut 
saved  his  own  life.  But  xvhen  Washington,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
Indian  mode  of  warf.ire,  modestly  offered  his  advice,  the  haughty  Braddock  said: 
'What,  an  American  buskin  teach  a  British  General  how  to  fight!"  The  wMc* 
*-as  unheeded,  the  day  was  lost,  and  Braddock  was  among  the  slain 


168  VIRGINIA. 

Lee,  deeply  mortified,  and  disgusted  with  the  insolent  bear 
ing  of  the  British  General  returned  home  with  his  troops 

In  1757  he  was  appointed,  by  the  royal  governor,  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  the  county  in  which  he  resided  ; 
and  such  confidence  had  the  other  magistrates  in  his  fit 
ness  to  preside  at  the  court,  that  they  petitioned  the 
Governor  so  to  date  Mr.  Lee's  commission,  that  he  might 
be  legally  appointed  the  President.  About  the  same 
time  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses 
of  Virginia,  although  then  only  twenty -five  years  old.* 
He  was  too  diffident  to  engage  in  the  debates,  and  it 
was  not  until  some  time  afterward  that  he  displayed  those 
powers  of  oratory,  which  distinguished  him  in  the  Gene 
ral  Congress. t 

Mr.  Lee  fearlessly  expressed  his  sentiments  of  reproba 
tion  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  British  Government 
toward  the  colonies,  and  he  organized  the  first  association 
in  Virginia  for  opposing  British  oppression  in  that  colony, 
when  it  came  in  the  form  of  the  "  Stamp  Act."  He  was 

*  Such  confidence  had  the  people  in  the  judgment  and  integrity  of  Mr.  Lee,  even 
though  so  young,  that,  it  is  said,  numbers  of  people  on  their  dying  beds,  committed 
to  him  the  guardianship  of  their  children. 

I  The  first  time  he  ever  took  part  in  a  debate,  sufficiently  to  make  a  set  speech, 
was  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  when  it  was  proposed  to  "  lay  so  heavy  a  duty  on 
the  importation  of  slaves,  as  effectually  to  stop  that  disgraceful  traffic."  His  feel 
ings  were  strongly  enlisted  in  favor  of  the  measure,  and  the  speech  which  he 
made  on  the  occasion  astonished  the  audience,  and  revealed  those  powers  of  ora 
tory  which  before  lay  concealed.  His  fearlessness  and  independence  of  spirit,  as 
well  as  his  eloquence,  were  soon  afterward  manifested  when  he  undertook  the 
task  of  calling  to  account  Mr.  Robinson,  the  delinquent  treasurer  of  the  colony. 
A  large  number  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  who  belonged  to  the 
old  aristocracy  of  Virginia,  were  men,  who,  by  extravagance  and  dissipation,  had 
wasted  their  estates,  and  resorted  to  the  ruinous  practice  of  borrowing  to  keep  up 
an  expensive  style  of  living  not  warranted  by  their  reduced  means.  Nearly 
fX>  of  thent  had  borrowed  money  of  Mr.  Robinson,  and  he  had  even  gone  so  far  at 
t:  lend  them  treasury  notes,  already  redeemed,  which  it  was  his  duty  to  destroy, 
to  secure  the  public  against  loss.  He  believed  that  their  influence  and  number  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses,  would  screen  him  from  punishment,  supposing  there 
were  none  hardy  enough  to  array  himself  against  them.  But  Mr.  Lee  did  array 
himself  against  all  that  corrupt  power,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  the  delinquent 
treanwer,  cwrried  his  point  successfully. 


RICHARD  HENRY  LEE.  169 

the  first  man  in  Virginia,  who  stood  publicly  forth  in  op 
position  to  the  execution  of  that  measure,  and  although  by 
birth,  education  and  social  station,  he  ranked  with  the 
aristocracy,  he  was  foremost  in  breaking  down  those  dis 
tinctions  between  the  wealthy  class  and  the  "  common 
people,"  as  those  self-constituted  patricians  called  those 
who  labored  with  their  hands,  Associated  with  him,  was 
the  powerful  Patrick  Henry,  whose  stormy  eloquence 
strongly  contrasted  with  the  sweet-toned  and  persuasive 
rhetoric  of  Lee,  but  when  they  united  their  power  the 
shock  was  always  irresistible. 

Mr.  Lee  was  one  of  the  first  "  Committee  of  Corres 
pondence"*  appointed  in  Virginia  in  1778,  and  he  was 
greatly  aided  in  the  acquirement  of  knowledge  respect 
ing  the  secret  movements  and  opinions  of  the  British 
Parliament,  by  frequent  letters  from  his  brother,  Arthur 
Lee,  who  was  a  distinguished  literary  character  in  Lon 
don,  and  an  associate  with  the  leading  men  of  the  realm 
He  furnished  him  with  the  earliest  political  intelligence, 
and  it  was  generally  so  correct,  that  the  Committees  of 
Correspondence  in  other  colonies  always  received  with 
out  doubt,  any  information  which  came  from  the  Vir 
ginia  Committee.  Through  this  secret  channel  of  cor 
rect  intelligence,  Richard  Henry  Lee  very  early  learned 
that  nothing  short  of  absolute  political  independence 
would  probably  arrest  the  progress  of  British  oppression 
and  misrule,  in  America.  Hence,  while  other  men 

*  To  Mr  Lee  is  doubtless  due  the  credit  of  first  suggesting  the  system  of"  Com 
mittees  of  Correspondence,"  although  Virginia  and  Massachusetts  both  claim  the 
honor  of  publicly  proposing  the  measure  first.  So  far  as  that  claim  is  concerned, 
the  proposition  was  almost  simultaneous  in  the  Assembly  of  both  Provinces.  It 
was  proposed  in  the  Virginia  Assembly,  on  the  twelfth  of  March,  1773,  by  Dabney 
Carr,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  a  young  man  of  brilliant  talents.  Th« 
plan,  however,  was  fixed  on  in  a  caucus  at  the  "  Raleigh  Tavern,"  and  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee  was  one  of  the  number.  But  in  a  letter  to  John  Dickenson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  dated  July  twenty-fifth,  1768,  Mr.  Lee  proposed  the  system  of  "  Cor- 
responding  Committees,"  as  a  powerful  instrument  in  uniting  the  sentiments  of 
the  colonists  on  t.hft  great  political  questions  constantly  arising  to  view 

8 


170  VIRGINIA. 

thought  timidly  of  independence,  and  regarded  it  merely 
as  a  possibility  of  the  distant  future,  Mr.  Lee  looked 
upon  it  as  a  measure  that  must  speedily  be  accomplished, 
and  his  mind  and  heart  were  prepared  to  propose  k 
whenever  expediency  should  favor  the  movement. 

He  was  very  active  in  promoting  the  prevalence  of 
non-importation  agreements  ;*  and  when  he  heard,  through 
his  brother,  of  the  "  Boston  Port  Bill,"  he  drew  up  a 
series  of  condemnatory  resolutions  to  present  to  the  Vir 
ginia  Assembly .f  The  Governor  heard  of  them,  and  dis 
solved  the  Assembly  before  the  resolutions  could  be  in 
troduced.  Of  course  this  act  of  royal  power  greatly  ex 
asperated  the  people,  and  instead  of  checking  the  ball 
that  Mr.  Lee  had  put  in  motion,  it  accelerated  its  speed. 
The  controversy  between  the  Governor  and  representa 
tives  here  begun,  continued,  and  the  breach  grew  wider 
and  wider,  until  at  length,  in  August,  1774,  a  convention 
of  delegates  of  the  people  assembled  at  Williamsburgh, 
in  despite  of  the  Governor's  proclamation,  and  appointed 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  Patrick  Henry,  George  Washing 
ton  and  Peyton  Randolph,  to  the  General  Congress  called 
to  meet  in  Philadelphia  on  the  fifth  of  September,  follow 
ing.  In  that  Congress,  Mr.  Lee  was  one  of  the  prime 
movers,  and  his  convincing  and  persuasive  eloquence 
nerved  the  timid  to  act  and  speak  out  boldly  for  the 
rights  of  the  colonists.  His  conduct  there  made  a  pro 
found  impression  upon  the  public  mind,  and  he  stood  be- 

*  Long  before  non-importation  agreements  were  proposed,  Mr.  Lee  practised 
the  measure.  In  order  to  show  the  people  of  Great  Britain  that  America  was  re 
ally  independent  of  them  in  matters  of  luxury,  as  well  as  necessity,  he  cultivated 
native  grapes,  and  produced  most  excellent  wine.  He  sent  several  bottles  to  his 
frinnds  in  Great  Britain,  "  to  testify  his  respect  and  gratitude  for  those  who  had 
shown  particular  kindness  to  Americans."  He  told  them  that  it  was  the  produc 
tion  of  his  own  hills ;  and  he  ordered  his  merchant  in  London,  who  had  before 
furnished  his  wine,  not  to  send  any  more,  aor  any  other  articles  on  which  Parlia« 
ment  had  imposed  a  duty  to  be  paid  by  Americans. 

t  One  of  these  resolutions  proposed  the  calling  of  a  Genera.  Congress,  but  even 
the  wannv.-t  juirtisnns  thought  this  measure  altogether  too  rash  to  bethoualit  of. 


RICHARD  HENRY  LEE.  171 

fore  his  countrymen  as  one  of  the  brightest  lights  of  the 
age. 

Mr.  Lee  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bur 
gesses  of  Virginia  as  soon  as  he  returned  home  from 
Congress,  and  there  his  influence  was  unbounded.  He 
was  again  elected  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress 
for  the  session  of  1775,  and  the  Instructions  and  commis 
sion  to  General  Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Continental  army  were  the  productions  of  his  pen. 
He  was  placed  upon  the  most  important  committees,  and 
the  second  "  Actress"  of  Congress  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  which  created  such  a  sensation  in  that  country, 
was  written  by  him.  During  a  short  recess  in  September, 
he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  where 
he  effectually  stripped  the  mask  from  the  "  conciliatory 
measures,"  sojcalled,  of  Lord  North,  which  were  evidently 
arranged  to  deceive  and  divide  the  American  people. 
By  this  annihilation  of  the  last  vestige  of  confidence  in 
royalty,  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Virginia,  he  became 
very  obnoxious  to  Lord  Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  of 
the  province,  and  he  tried  many  ways  to  silence  the 
patriot. 

Mr.  Lee  was  a  delegate  in  the  Congress  of  1776,  and 
on  the  seventh  day  of  June  of  that  year,  pursuant  to  the 
dictates  of  his  own  judgment  and  feelings,  and  in  obe 
dience  to  the  express  instructions  of  the  Assembly  of  Vir 
ginia,  he  introduced  the  resolution  so  often  referred  to  in 
these  memoirs,  for  a  total  separation  from  the  mother-coun 
try.*  The  consideration  of  the  resolution  was  made  the 
special  order  of  the  day,  for  the  first  Monday  in  July,  and 
a  committee,  of  which  Thomas  Jefferson  was  chairman, 
was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  Declaration  of  Indepen- 

*  The  resolution  was  as  follows  : — "  Resolved,  That  these  United  Colonies  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States  ;  that  they  are  absolved  from 
all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown  ;  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them 
wwi  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is.  and  ought  to  'be,  totally  dissolved." 


172  VIRGINIA. 

dence.*  This  document  was  presented  to  Congress  on 
the  first  day  of  July ;  and  after  several  amendments 
made  in  committee  of  the  whole,  it  was  adopted  on  the 
fourth,  by  the  unanimous  votes  of  the  thirteen  United 
Colonies. 

Mr.  Lee  continued  an  active  and  indefatigable  member 
of  Congress  until  1779,  when,  as  lieutentant  of  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  he  entered  the  field  at  the  head 
of  the  militia,  in  defence  of  his  State.  He  was  oc 
casionally  absent  from  Congress  on  account  of  his  health, 
and  once  on  account  of  being  charged  with  toryism,  be 
cause  he  received  his  rents  in  produce,  instead  of  the  de 
preciated  continental  currency  !  He  demanded  and  ob 
tained  an  investigation  before  the  Virginia  Assembly, 
and  it  resulted  in  the  passage  of  a  resolution  of  thanks 
for  his  many  services  in  and  out  of  Congress,  and  by  his 
immediate  re-election  to  a  seat  there. 

Mr.  Lee  was  again  chosen  a  delegate  to  Congress  in 
1783,  and  was  elected  President  thereof  by  the  unani 
mous  voice  of  that  body.  He  filled  the  high  station  with 
ability,  and  at  the  end  of  the  session  received  the  thanks 
of  that  assembly.  Although  not  a  member  of  any  legis 
lative  assembly  when  the  Federal  Constitution  was  sub 
mitted  to  the  several  States  for  action,  he  wielded  a  pow 
erful  influence,  in  connection  with  Patrick  Henry  and 
others,  in  opposing  its  ratification  by*  Virginia,  without 
amendments.  But  when  it  was  finally  adopted  and  be 
came  the  organic  law  of  the  Union,  he  cheerfully  united 
in  carrying  it  into  effect,  and  was  chosen  the  first  Senator 

*  The  Committee  consisted  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Dr.  Franklin,  John  Adams 
Roger  Sherman,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston.  It  may  be  asked,  why  was  not  Mr. 
Lee,  by  common  courtesy,  at  least,  put  upon  that  committee,  and  designated  its 
chairman  ?  The  reason  was,  that  on  the  very  day  he  offered  the  resolution,  an 
express  arrived  from  Virginia,  informing  him  of  the  illness  of  some  of  his  family 
which  caused  him  to  ask  leave  of  absence,  and  he  immediately  started  for  home 
He  was  therefore  absent  from  Congress  when  the  committee  was  formei. 


RICHARD  HENR*  LEE.  173 

from  Virginia  under  it.  He  retained  the  office  until  the 
infirmities  of  age  compelled  him  to  retire  from  public 
life,  and  he  there  enjoyed,  amid  the  quietude  of  domes 
tic  retirement,  the  fruits  of  a  well -spent  existence. 

His  last  days  were  crowned  with  all  the  honor  and  rev 
erence  which  a  grateful  people  could  bestow  upon  a  ben 
efactor,  and  when  death  cut  his  thread  of  life,  a  nation 
truly  mourned.  He  sunk  to  his  final  rest  on  the  nine 
teenth  day  of  June,  1794,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Lee  was  a  sincere  practical  Christian,  a  kind  and  af 
fectionate  husband  and  parent,  a  generous  neighbor,  a 
constant  friend,  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  he  main 
tained  a  character  above  reproach.  "  His  hospitable  door," 
says  Sanderson,  "  was  open  to  all ;  the  poor  and  desti 
tute  frequented  it  for  relief,  and  consolation ;  the  young 
for  instruction  ;  the  old  for  happiness  ;  while  a  numerous 
family  of  children,  the  offspring  of  two  marriages,  clus 
tered  around  and  clung  to  each  other  in  fond  affection, 
imbibing  the  wisdom  of  their  father,  while  they  were  ani 
mated  and  delighted  by  the  amiable  serenity  and  capti 
vating  graces  of  his  conversation.  The  necessities  of  his 
country  occasioned  frequent  absence ;  but  every  return 
to  his  home  was  celebrated  by  the  people  as  a  festival ; 
for  he  was  their  physician,  their  counsellor,  and  the  arbi 
ter  of  their  differences.  The  medicines  which  he  im 
ported  were  carefully  and  judiciously  dispensed ;  and  the 
equity  of  his  decision  was  never  controvertecyMM^ourt 
of  law." 


MERICAN  history  presents  few  names  to 
its  students  more  attractive  and  dis- 
tin  finished  than  that  of  THOMAS  JEF- 

O 

PERSON,  and  rarely  has  a  single  indi 
vidual,  in  civil  station,  acquired  such 
an  ascendency  over  the  feelings  and 
actions  of  a  people,  as  was  possessed  by  the  subject  of 
this  brief  memoir.  To  trace  the  lines  of  his  character  and 
career,  is  a  pleasing  task  for  every  American  whose  mind 
is  fixed  upon  the  political  destiny  of  his  country,  and  we 
regret  the  narrow  limits  to  which  our  pen  is  confined. 

174 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  175 

Mr.  Jefferson's  family  were  among  the  early  British 
emigrants  to  Virginia.     His   ancestors  came  from  Wales, 
from  near  the  great  Snowdon  mountain.     His  grandfather 
settled  in  Chesterfield,  and  had  three  sons,  Thomas,  Field, 
and  Peter.     The  latter  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Isham 
Randolph,  of  Goochland,  of  Scotch  descent ;  and  on  the 
thirteenth  of  April,  1743,  she  became  the  mother  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.     They  resided  at  that  time  at  Shad- 
well,  in  Albermarle  county,  Virginia.     Thomas  was  the 
eldest  child.     His  father  died  when  he  was  fourteen  years 
old,  leaving  a  widow  and  eight  children  —  two  sons,  and  six 
daughters.     He  left  a  handsome  estate  to  his  family  ;  and 
the  lands,  which  he  called  Monticello,  fell  to   Thomas, 
where  the  latter  always  resided  when  not   engaged  in 
public  duty,  and  where  he  lived  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
Thomas   entered  a  grammar  school  at  the  age  of  five 
years,  and  when  nine  years  old  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  classics  with  a  Scotch  clergyman  named  Douglas. 
On  the  death  of  his  father,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Maury  be 
came  his  preceptor ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1760,  he  entered 
William  and  Mary  College,  where  he  remained  two  years 
From  Doctor  William  Small,  a  professor  of  mathematics 
in  the  college,  he  received  his  first  philosophical  teach 
ings,   and  the  bias  of  his  mind  concerning  subjects  of 
scientific  investigation  seemed  to  have  received  its  initial 
impetus  from  that  gentleman.     Through  his  influence,  in 
1762,  young  Jefferson  was  admitted  as  a  student-at-law 
in  the  office  of  George  Wythe,  the  intimate  frien$  of  Gov 
ernor  Fauquier,  at  whose  table  our  subject  became  a  wel 
come  guest. 

In  1765,  while  yet  a  student,  Jefferson  r^ard  the  cele 
brated  speech  of  Patrick  Henry  against  the  Stamp  Act ; 
and  fired  by  its  doctrines,  he  at  once  stood  forth  the  avowed 
r  ampion  of  American  freedom.     So  manifest  were  his 
«p.nts,  that  in  1769  he  was  elected  ameirber  of  the  Vir- 


176  VIRGINIA. 

ginia  Legislature,  and  became  at  once  active  and  populat 
there.*  He  filled  that  station  until  the  period  of  the  Rev 
olution,  when  he  was  called  to  the  performance  of  more 
exalted  duties  in  the  national  council. 

He  was  married  in  January,  1772,  to  Mrs.  Martha 
Skelton,  a  wealthy  widow  of  twenty -three,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  John  Wales,  an  eminent  Virginia  lawyer. 

When  the  system  of  committees  of  correspondence  was 
established  in  1773,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  a  member  of  the 
first  committee  in  Virginia,  and  was  very  active  with  his 
pen.  In  1774,  his  powerfully  written  pamphlet  was  pub 
lished,  called  "A  Summary  View  of  the  Rights  of  British 
America."  It  was  addressed  to  the  king,  and  was  pub 
lished  in  England,  under  the  auspices  of  Edmund  Burke 

He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  represent  Virginia  in  the 
Continental  Congress  of  1775,  and  for  several  years  he 
was  one  of  the  most  efficient  members  of  that  body.  He 
soon  became  distinguished  among  the  men  of  talents  there, 
although  comparatively  young  ;  and  when,  in  the  succeed 
ing  year,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draught  a  DECLA 
RATION  OP  INDEPENDENCE,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  mem 
bers.  Although  the  youngest  member  of  the  committee, 
he  was  appointed  chairman,  and  was  requested  by  the 
others  to  draw  up  the  instrument,  which  he  did,  and  his 
draught  was  adopted,  with  a  very  few  verbal  amendments, 
on  the  fourth  of  July,  1776.  This  instrument  forms  an 
everlasting  monument  to  his  memory,  and  gives,  by  far,  a 
wider  raT>ge  to  the  fame  of  his  talents  and  patriotism,  than 
eloquent  panegyric  or  sculptured  epitaph. 

*  He  made  strong  but  unsuccessful  efforts  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  for  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves. 

t  This  pamphlet  gave  great  offence  to  Lord  Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  ot 
Virginia,  who  threatened  to  prosecute  him  for  high  treason.  And  because  his  as 
sociates  in  the  Virginia  Assembly  sustained  Jefferson,  Dunmore  dissolved  it  They 
assembled  in  a  private  capacity,  and  drew  up  a  remonstrance,  which  had  a  pow 
erful  effect  upon  the  people.  The  governor  perceived  that  his  arts  were  futile^ 
and  he  allowed  the  matter  to  rest. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  177 

During  the  summer  of  1776,  he  was  elected  to  a  seat 
m  the  Virginia  Assembly,  and,  desirous  of  serving  his  own 
State>  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  and  leturned  to 
Virginia.  He  was  soon  afterward  appointed  a  joint  com 
missioner  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  Silas  Deane,  for  negotia 
ting  treaties  with  France,  but  circumstances  caused  him  to 
decline  the  acceptance  of  the  proffered  honor,  and  he  con 
tinued  in  Virginia  during  the  remaining  period  of  the  RCT 
olution,  actively  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  State.  He 
received  a  third  election  to  Congress,  but  declined  it,  ana 
was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  father  of  the 
late  President. 

From  the  early  part  of  1777  to  the  middle  of  1779, 
Mr.  Jefferson  was  assiduously  employed,  conjointly  with 
George  Wythe  and  Edmund  Pendleton,  on  a  commission 
for  revising  the  laws  of  Virginia.  The  duty  was  a  most 
arduous  one  ;  and  to  Mr.  Jefferson  belongs  the  imperish 
able  honor  of  being  the  first  to  propose,  in  the  Legislature 
of  Virginia,  the  laws  forbidding  the  importation  of  slaves  ; 
converting  estates  tail*  into  fee  simple ;  annulling  the 
rights  of  primogeniture  ;t  establishing  schools  for  general 
education  ;  and  confirming  the  rights  of  freedom  in  re 
ligious  opinion. 

Congress  having  resolved  not  to  suffer  the  prisonei'3 
captured  at  Saratoga,  under  Burgoyne,  to  leave  the  United 
States  until  the  convention,  entered  into  by  Gates  and  Bur 
goyne,  should  be  ratified  by  the  British  government,  they 
were  divided,  and  sent  to  the  different  States,  to  be  pro 
vided  for  during  the  interval.  A  division  of  them  was 

*  A  law  entitled  fee  tail  was  adopted  in  the  time  of  Edward  I.  of  England,  and 
at  the  period  in  question  extended  to  all  the  English  colonies.  It  restrained  the 
alienation  of  lands  and  tenements  by  one  to  whom  they  had  been  given,  with  a 
limitation  to  a  particular  class  of  heirs.  A.  fee-simple  estate  i8  one  in  which  the 
owner  has  absolute  power  to  dispose  of  it  as  he  pleases ;  and  if  in  his  possession 
when  he  dies,  it  descends  to  his  heirs  general. 

t  This  right  belonged  to  the  eldest  son,  who  succeeded  to  the  estate  of  his  an 
cestor,  to  the  exclusion  of  his  brothers  and  sisters.  This  is  still  the  lav  \o  England 

8* 


J  78  VIRGINIA  . 

sent,  early  in  1779,  into  the  interior  of  Virginia,  near  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Jeffersoi.  and  his  benevolent  feelings 
were  strongly  exhibited  by  his  sympathy  for  these  ene 
mies  of  his  country.  The  prisoners  were  in  great  dis 
tress,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  friends  did  all  in  their 
power  to  alleviate  their  sufferings.  An  apprehended 
scarcity  of  provisions,  determined  Governor  Patrick  Henry 
to  remove  them  to  another  part  of  the  State,  or  out  of  it 
entirely.  At  this  the  officers  and  men  were  greatly  dis 
tressed,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  a  touching  appeal  to  the 
governor  in  their  behalf,  and  they  were  allowed  to  remain.* 

In  June,  1779,  Mr.  Jefferson  succeeded  Mr.  Henry  a? 
governor  of  Virginia,  and  the  close  of  his  administratior 
was  a  period  of  great  difficulty  and  danger.  His  State 
became  the  theatre  of  predatory  warfare,  the  infamous 
Arnold  having  entered  it  with  British  and  tory  troops,  and 
commenced  spreading  desolation  with  fire  and  sword  along 
the  James  river.  Richmond,  the  capital,  was  partly  des 
troyed,  and  Jefferson  and  his  council  narrowly  escaped 
capture.  He  tried,  but  in  vain,  to  get  possession  of  the 
person  of  Arnold,  but  the  wily  traitor  was  too  cautious 
for  him. 

Very  soon  after  his  retirement  to  private  life,  Tarleton, 
who  attempted  to  capture  the  members  of  the  legislature 
convened  at  Charlottesville,  a  short  distance  from  Jeffer 
son's  residence,  came  very  near  taking  himprisonei.  Jef- 
fe^-son  tad  sent  his  family  away  in  his  carriage,  and  re 
mained  to  attend  to  some  matters  in  his  dwelling,  when 
he  saw  the  cavalry  ascending  a  lull  toward  his  house.  He 
mounted  a  fleet  horse,  dashed  through  the  woods,  and 
reached  his  family  in  safety. 

*  The  officers  and  soldiers  were  very  grateful  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  and  when  they 
were  about  to  depart  for  England,  the  former  united  in  a  letter  of  thanks  to  him. 
Mr.  Jefferson,  in  reply,  disclaimed  the  performance  of  any  great  service  to  them, 
and  said  :  "  Opposed  as  we  happen  to  be  in  our  sentiments  of  duty  and  honor, 
and  anxious  for  contrary  events,  I  shall,  nevertheless,  sincerely  rejoice  in  evarj 
circumstance  of  happiness  and  safety  which  mn.y  attend  you  personally  ' 


THOMAS  JEFFEUSON.  179 

M.  de  Marbois,  secretary  of  the  French  legation  in  the 
United  States,  having  questioned  Mr.  Jefferson  respecting 
the  resources,  &c.,  of  his  native  State,  he  wrote,  in  1781, 
his  celebrated  work  entitled  "  Notes  on  Virginia."  The 
great  amount  of  information  which  it  contains,  and  the 
simple  perspicuity  of  its  style,  made  its  author  exceed 
ingly  popular  in  Europe  as  a  writer  and  man  of  science, 
in  addition  to  his  character  as  a  statesman. 

In  1782,  he  was  appointed  a  minister  plenipotentiary 
to  assist  others  in  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain ;  but  information  of  the  preliminaries  having  been 
signed,  reached  Congress  before  his  departure,  and  he  did 
;iot  go.  He  was  soon  after  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress, 
and  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  in  1783,  to  whom 
the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  was  referred.  On  their  re 
port,  the  treaty  was  unanimously  ratified. 

In  1784,  he  wrote  an  essay  on  coinage  and  currency 
for  the  United  States,  and  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  the 
convenient  denominations  of  our  federal  money,  the  dollar 
as  a  unit,  and  the  system  of  decimals. 

In  May  of  this  year,  he  was  appointed,  with  Adams 
and  Franklin,  a  minister  to  negotiate  treaties  of  commerce 
with  foreign  nations.  In  company  with  his  eldest  daugh 
ter,  he  reached  Paris  in  August.  Dr.  Franklin  having 
obtained  leave  to  return  home,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  appoint 
ed  to  succeed  him  as  minister  at  the  French  court,  and 
he  remained  in  France,  until  October,  1789.  While 
there,  he  became  popular  among  the  literati,  and  his  so- 
liety  was  courted  by  the  leading  writers  of  the  day. 

During  his  absence  the  constitution  had  been  formed, 
and  under  it  Washington  had  been  elected  and  inaugurated 
President  of  the  United  States.  His  visit  home  was  un 
der  leave  of  absence,  but  Washington  offered  him  a  seat 
in  his  cabinet  as  secretary  of  state,  and  gave  him  his 
choice  to  remain  in  that  capacity  or  rettira  to  France 


180  VIKC.'IMA. 

He  CIA  ee  to  remain,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient 
aids  to  the  President  during  the  stormy  period  of  his  first 
administration.  He  differed  jn  opinion  with  Washington 
respecting  the  kindling  revolution  in  France,  but  he 
agreed  with  him  on  the  question  of  the  neutrality  of  the 
United  States.  His  bold  avowal  of  democratic  senti 
ments,  and  his  expressed  sympathies  with  the  struggling 
populace  of  France  in  their  aspirations  for  republicanism, 
made  him  the  leader  of  the  democratic  party  here,  op 
posed  to  the  federal  administration  of  Washington  ;*  and 
in  1793  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  cabinet. 

In  1796,  he  was  the  republican  candidate  for  Presi 
dent,  in  opposition  to  John  Adams.  Mr.  Adams  suc 
ceeded,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected  Vice-President.f 
In  1800,  he  was  again  nominated  for  President,  and  re 
ceived  a  majority  of  votes  over  Mr.  Adams.  Aaron  Burr 
was  on  the  ticket  with  him,  and  received  an  equal  num 
ber  of  votes  ;  but  on  the  thirty-sixth  balloting,  two  of 
SUIT'S  friends  withdrew,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  was  elected. 

Mr.  Jefferson's  administration  continued  eight  years, 
he  having  been  elected  for  a  second  term.  The  most  pro 
minent  measures  of  his  administration,  were  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana  from  France,|  the  embargo  on  the  commerce 
and  ocean-navigation  of  the  United  States  ;§  the  non- 

*  In  1791,  Washington  asked  his  opinion  respecting  a  national  bank,  a  bill  for 
which  had  been  passed  by  Congress  and  approved  by  Washington.  He  gave  his 
opinion  in  writing,  and  strongly  objected  to  the  measure  as  being  unconstitutional. 

t  At  that  time,  the  candidate  receiving  the  next  highest  number  of  votes  to  the 
one  elected  president,  was  vice  president.  The  constitution,  on  that  point,  has  since 
been  altered.  During  the  time  he  was  vice  president,  he  wrote  a  manual  for  the 
Senate,  which  is  still  the  standard  of  parliamentary  rule  in  Congress  and  other 
bodies. 

J  The  United  States  agreed  to  pay  fifteen  millions  of  dollars  to  France  for  Lou 
isiana  (an  area  of  more  than  a  million  of  square  miles),  four  millions  of  which 
France  allowed  to  go  toward  the  payment  of  indemnities  for  spoliations  during 
peace. 

§  The  Embargo  Act  prohibited  all  American  vessels  from  sailing  for  foreign 
ports ;  all  foreign  vessels  from  taking  out  cargoes  ;  and  all  coasting  vessels  wera 
required  to  give  bonds  to  land  their  Q«rgoes  in  the  United  States.  These  restrto 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  181 

intercourse  and  non-importation  systems  ;  the  guu-boat 
experiment;*  the  suppression  of  Burr's  expedition  down 
the  Mississippi  river  ;t  and  the  sending  of  an  exploring 
company  to  the  region  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  and 
westward  to  the  Pacific  ocean.!  Mr.  Jefferson  also  in 
troduced  the  practice  of  communicating  with  Congress 
by  message,  instead  of  by  a  personal  address ;  a  prac 
tice  followed  by  all  the  Presidents  since  his  time.  The 
foreign  relations  of  the  United  States  during  the  whole 
time  of  his  administration  were  in  a  very  perplexing 
condition,  yet  he  managed  with  so  much  firmness,  that  he 
kept  other  powers  at  bay,  and  highly  exalted  our  Repub 
lic  among  the  family  of  nations. 

At  the  close  of  his  second  Presidential  term,  Mr.  Jef 
ferson  retired  to  private  life,  and  amid  the  quiet  scenes  of 
Monticello,  he  spent  the  remaining  seventeen  years  of 
his  being,  in  philosophical  and  agricultural  pursuits. 
Through  his  instrumentality,  a  university  was  founded 
in  1818,  at  Charlottesville,  near  Monticello,  of  which  he 
was  rector  until  his  death,  and  a  liberal  patron  as  far  as 
his  means  would  allow. 

Toward  the  close  of  his  life,  his  pecuniary  affairs  be 
came  embarrassed,  and  he  was  obliged  to  sell  his  library, 
which  Congress  purchased  for  thirty  thousand  dollars. 
A  short  time  previous  to  his  death,  he  received  permis- 

tive  measures  were  intended  so  to  affect  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain,  as  to  bring 
that  government  to  a  fair  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce. 

*  Mr.  Jefferson  recommended  the  construction  of  a  large  number  of  gun-boats 
for  the  protection  of  American  harbors.  But  they  were  unpopular  with  navy 
officers,  and  being  liable  to  destruction  by  storms,  the  scheme,  after  a  brief  experi 
ment,  was  abandoned. 

t  Aaron  Burr  organized  a  military  expedition,  ostensibly  to  act  against  the  re. 
public  of  Mexico  ;  but  the  belief  being  generally  entertained  that  it  was  really  in 
tended  to  dissever  the  Union,  and  form  a  separate  government  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  he  was  arrested,  in  1807,  on  a  charge  of  high  treason.  He  was  tried 
and  acquitted. 

i  This  expedition  was  under  the  direction  of  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and 
they  made  a  toilsoncs  overland  journey  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River. 


lS2  VIRGINIA. 

Bion  from  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  to  dispose  of  his 
estate  by  lottery,  to  prevent  its  being  sacrificed  to  pay  his 
debts.  He  did  not  live  to  see  it  consummated. 

In  the  spring  of  1826,  his  bodily  infirmities  greatly  in 
creased,  and  in  June  he  was  confined  wholly  to  his  bed. 
About  the  first  of  July  he  seemed  free  from  disease,  and 
his  friends  had  hopes  of  his  recovery ;  but  it  was  his 
own  conviction  that  he  should  die,  and  he  gave  directions 
accordingly.  On  the  third,  he  inquired  the  day  of  the 
month.  On  being  told,  he  expressed  an  ardent  desire  to 
live  until  the  next  day,  to  breathe  the  air  of  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  his  country's  independence.  His  wish  was 
granted  :  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth,  after  having 
expressed  his  gratitude  to  his  friends  and  servants  for 
their  care,  he  said  with  a  distinct  voice,  "  I  resign  myself 
to  my  God,  and  my  child  to  my  country."*  These  were 
his  last  words,  and  about  noon  on  that  glorious  day  he 
expired.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  coincidence  that  two 
of  the  committee  (Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jefferson)  who 
drew  up  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  who  signed 
it ;  who  successively  held  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate, 
should  have  died  at  nearly  the  same  hour  on  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  that  solemn  act. 

He  was  a  little  over  eighty-three  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  Mr.  Jefferson's  manner  was  simple 
but  dignified,  and  his  conversational  powers  were  of  the 
rarest  value.  He  was  exceedingly  kind  and  benevo 
lent,  an  indulgent  master  to  his  servants,  liberal  and 

*  Mrs.  Randolph,  whom  he  tenderly  loved.  Just  before  he  died,  he  handed  her 
a  morocco  case,  with  a  request  that  she  would  not  open  it  until  after  his  decease. 
It  contained  a  poetical  tribute  to  her  virtues,  and  an  epitaph  for  his  tomb,  if  any 
should  be  placed  upon  it.  He  wished  his  monument  to  be  a  small  granite  olelisk 
with  this  inscription  : — 

"  Here  was  buried 
THOMAS   JEFFEESON, 
Author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
Of  the  Statute  of  Virginia  for  Religious  Freedom. 
And  Father  of  the  University  of  Virginia  " 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON.  183 

friendly  to  his  neighbors.  He  possessed  remarkable 
equanimity  of  temper,  and  it  is  said  he  was  never  seen 
in  a  passion.*  His  friendship  was  lasting  and  ardent ; 
and  he  was  confiding  and  never  distrustfil. 

In  religion  he  was  a  freethinker ;  in  morals,  pure  and 
unspotted  ;  in  politics,  patriotic,  honest,  ardent  and  be 
nevolent.  Respecting  his  political  character,  there  was 
(and  still  is)  a  great  diversity  of  opinion,  and  we  are  not 
yet  far  enough  removed  from  the  theatre  of  his  acts  to 
judge  of  them  dispassionately  and  justly.  His  life  was 
devoted  to  his  country;  the  result  of  his  acts  whatever 
it  may  be,  is  a  legacy  to  mankind. 

t  During  his  presidency,  Humboldt,  the  celebrated  traveller,  once  visiting  him, 
discovered  in  a  newspaper  upon  his  table,  a  vile  and  slanderous  attack  upon  hia 
character.  "  Why  do  you  not  hang  the  man?"  asked  Humboldt.  "  Put  the  paper 
in  your  pocket,"  said  Jefferson,  with  a  smile,  "  and  on  your  return  to  your  coun 
try,  if  any  one  doubts  the  freedom  of  our  press,  show  it  to  him,  and  tell  him  where 
y  ju  found  it." 


•' Monticello,  Mr  JaSferacn's  Residence." 


ENJAMIN  HARRISON  was  born  in  Berkley, 
in  Virginia,  but  the  exact  time  of  his  birth 
is  not  certainly  known.  His  ancestors 
were  among  the  earlier  settlers  of  that 
colony,  having  emigrated  thither  from 
England,  in  the  year  1640.  His  paternal  ancestor  mar 
ried  in  the  family  of  the  king's  surveyor-general,  and  this 
gave  him  an  opportunity  to  select  the  most  fertile  regions 
of  the  State  for  settlement  and  improvement.  Thus  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  large  estate  which  is  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  family. 

184 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  185 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  placed  by  his  father  in 
the  college  of  William  and  Mary,  with  a  view  of  giving 
him  a  thorough  classical  education.  He  was  there  at  the 
time  of  his  father's  decease,  which  was  sudden  and  aw 
ful  ;*  and  having  had  a  dispute  with  one  of  the  professors, 
he  left  the  institution^  before  the  close  of  his  term,  and 
never  returned  to  get  his  degree.  Being  the  eldest  of 
six  sons,  the  management  of  the  estate  of  his  father  de 
volved  on  him  at  his  decease,  and,  although  then  a  minor 
he  performed  his  duties  with  great  fidelity  and  skill. 

Young  Harrison,  at  a  very  early  age,  became  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,0  where 
his  talents  and  sound  judgment  won  for  him  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  parties.  He  was  soon  elected 
Speaker,  and  became  one  of  the  most  influential  men  in 
that  Assembly,  where  he  occupied  a  seat  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  His  great  wealth,  distinguished 
family  connections,  and  personal  worth,  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  the  royal  governor,  who,  desirous  of  retaining 
him  on  the  side  of  the  government,  when  the  political  agi 
tations  caused  by  the  Stamp  Act  took  place,  offered  him  a 
seat  in  the  executive  council.  But  he  had  narrowly 
watched  the  gradual  development  of  events,  and  he  was 
convinced  that  a  systematic  scheme  for  enslaving  the  colo 
nies  was  being  matured  by  the  home  government.  He 
therefore  rejected  the  offer  of  the  governor,  boldly  avowed 
his  attachment  to  the  republican  cause,  and  joined  with 
the  patiiotic  burgesses  of  Virginia  in  their  opposition  to 
the  oppressive  acts  of  the  British  government.t 

Mr.  Harrison  was  one  of  the  first  seven  delegates  from 

*  This  venerable  man,  and  two  of  his  four  daughters,  were  instantly  struck 
dead  by  lightning,  during  a  violent  thunder  storm,  in  their  mansion  house  at 
Berkley. 

t  Even  before  the  Stamp  Act  was  proposed,  some  of  the  measures  of  the  Brit 
ish  Parliament,  affecting  the  interests  of  the  American  colonies,  produced  alarm, 
and  the  Virginia  House  of  Assembly  appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  an  address 
or  petition  to  the  king.  Mr.  Flarrison  was  one  of  that  committee. 


1S6  VIRGINIA. 

Virginia  to  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774,  and  he  had 
the  gratification  of  seeing  Peyton  Randolph,  a  very  near 
relative,  and  his  colleague  from  Virginia,  elected  presi 
dent  of  that  august  body.  Immediately  after  the  return 
of  the  delegates  to  Virginia,  a  convention  met  in  Rich 
mond,  and  all  the  acts  of  the  General  Congress  were  sanc 
tioned  by  them.  They  re-elected  Mr.  Harrison,  with 
others,  a  delegate  to  the  Congress  of  1775,  which  met  on 
the  tenth  of  May  of  that  year.  During  the  autumn,  he 
was  appointed  by  Congress  one  of  a  committee  to  visit 
the  army  under  Washington,  at  Cambridge  near  Boston, 
and  co-operate  with  the  Commander-in-Chief  in  devising 
plans  for  future  operations.  Towai'd  the  close  of  1775, 
he  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  committee  to  carry  on 
foreign  correspondence,*  and  in  that  capacity  he  labored 
with  fidelity  until  the  spring  of  1777,  when  the  necessity 
of  such  a  committee  no  longer  existed;  a  special  agent  or 
commissioner  having  been  sent  to  Europe,  and  a  new 
committee  on  foreign  affairs  organized,  with  different  du 
ties  ;  and  a  secretary,  who  received  a  stipulated  salary. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  constantly  employed  in  active  ser 
vice,  and  was  always  among  the  first  in  advocating  deci 
sive  and  energetic  measures.  He  was  warmly  in  favor 
of  independence,  and  when  that  great  question  was  under 
discussion  in  committee  of  the  whole,  he  was  in  the  chair. 
He  voted  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  on  the 
fourth  of  July,  1776,  and  signed  it  on  the  second  of  Au 
gust  following.  In  1777,  his  private  affairs,  and  also  public 
matters  in  his  own  State,  demanded  his  presence  there, 
and  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  and  returned  home. 

*  Congress  deemed  it  essential  to  have  a  good  understanding  with  the  rival 
powers  of  Great  Britain,  and  in  order  to  have  some  communication  with  them 
(which  could  not  be  done  by  open  diplomacy)  this  committee  was  established 
for  the  purpose,  as  expressed  by  the  resolution  constituting  it,  "to  hold  COP 
respondence  with  the  friends  of  America  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  ani  otiut 
parts  of  the  world." 


BENJAMIN   HARUiSON.  187 

He  was  immediately  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Burgesses,  and  as  soon  as  he  took  his  seat,  he  was  elevated 
to  the  Speaker's  chair.  That  office  he  held  until  1782, 
without  interruption. 

Having  been  appointed  lieutenant  of  his  native  county, 
(which  appointment  constituted  him  commander  of  all  the 
militia,  with  the  title  of  colonel,  and  also  presiding  judge 
in  all  the  civil  courts  of  the  county,)  he  was  very  active 
and  efficient  at  the  time  the  traitor  Arnold  invaded  Vir 
ginia,  and  afterward  when  Cornwallis  made  incursions 
into  it. 

In  1782,  Mr.  Harrison  was  elected  governor  of  the 
State,  and  he  managed  public  affairs  at  that  trying  time, 
with  great  ability  and  firmness.  He  was  governor  two 
successive  terms,  and  then  retired  to  private  life.  But  he 
was  almost  immediately  elected  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  again  resumed  the  Speaker's  chair,  by 
election. 

In  the  year  1790,  he  was  nominated  for  governor,  but 
he  declined  on  account  of  the  then  incumbent  having  filled 
the  chair  only  two  years  ;  and  he  successfully  promoted 
his  re-election.  Mr.  Harrison  was  again  elected  governor 
in  1791,  and  the  day  after  his  election  he  invited  a  party  of 
friends  to  dine  with  him.  He  had  been  suffering  a  good 
deal  from  gout  in  the  stomach,  but  had  nearly  recovered. 
That  night  he  experienced  a  relapse,  and  the  next  day 
death  ended  his  sufferings.  This  event  occurred  in 
April,  1791. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  married  in  early  life,  to  a  niece  of 
Mrs.  Washington,  Miss  Elizaoeth  Bassett,  who  lived  but 
one  year  after  her  husband's  decease.  T>.ey  had  a  nu 
merous  offspring,  but  only  seven  lived  to  mature  age.  One 
of  these  was  the  lamented  and  venerated  William  Henry 
Harrison,  late  President  of  the  United  States. 


HOMAS  NELSON  was  born  at  Yorktown, 
in  Virginia,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  De 
cember,  1738.  His  father,  William  Nel- 
^  son  was  a  native  of  England,  and  emi 
grated  to  America  about  the  beginning 
f  of  the  last  century.  By  prudence  and 
industry  he  accumulated  a  large  fortune,  and  held  rank 
among  the  first  families  of  Virginia. 

Thomas  was  the  oldest  son  of  his  parents,  and  his 
father,  in  conformity  to  the  fashion  of  the  times  among  the 
opulent  of  that  province,  sent  him  to  England  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  years  to  be  educated.  He  was  placed  in  a 

188 


THOMAS    NELSON,  JR.  189 

distinguished  private  school  not  far* from  London,  and  af 
ter  completing  a  preparatory  course  of  studies  there,  he 
went  to  Cambridge  and  was  entered  a  member  of  Trinity 
College.  He  there  enjoyed  the  private  instructions  of 
the  celebrated  Dr.  Proteus,  afterward  the  Bishop  of  Lon 
don.  He  remained  there,  a  close  and  diligent  student 
mtil  1761,  when  he  returned  to  America. 

Mr.  Nelson  watched  with  much  interest  the  movements 
of  the  British  Parliament,  during  and  after  the  time  of 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Grenville,*  and  his  sympathies 
were  keenly  alive  in  favor  of  the  Americans  and  their 
cause.  His  first  appearance  in  public  life,  was  in  1774, 
when  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burges 
ses  of  Virginia,  and  there  h^  took  sides  with  the  patriots. 
It  was  during  that  session,  that  the  resolutions  reproba 
ting  the  "  Boston  Port  Bill"  caused  Lord  Dunmore,  the 
royal  governor  of  Virginia,  to  dissolve  the  Assembly. 
Eighty-nine  of  the  members,  among  whom  was  Mr. 
Nelson,  met  the  next  day  at  a  neighboring  tavern,  and 
formed  an  association  far  more  efficient  in  throwing  up 
the  strong  bulwarks  of  freedom,  than  was  the  regular  As 
sembly.  Mr  Nelson  was  a  member  of  the  first  general 
convention  of  Virginia,  which  met  at  Williamsburgh  in 
August,  1774,  and  elected  delegates  to  the  first  Continen 
tal  Congress.  In  the  spring  of  1775,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  another  general  convention,  and  there  he  dis 
played  such  boldness  of  spirit,  that  he  was  looked  upon 
as  an  efficient  leader  in  the  patriotic  movements  of  the 
day.  Much  to  the  alarm  of  his  friends,  he  proposed  in 
that  convention,  the  bold  and  almost  treasonable  measure 
of  organizing  the  militia  of  the  State  f  jr  the  defence  of 

*  George  Grenville,  the  Prime  Minister  of  England  in  17«5,  was  the  author  of 
th«  Stamp  Act  He  is  represented  as  an  honest,  but  short-sighted  politician,  and 
the  Stamp  Act  was  doubtless  more  an  error  of  his  head  than  of  his  heart,  lie 
saw  an  empty  treasury,  with  large  demands  upon  it  waiting  to  be  satisfied,  and 
*ie  thought  to  replenish  it  by  taxing  the  American  colonies. 


190  VIRGINIA. 

the  chartered  rights  oi'the  people.  Patrick  Henry,  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee,  and  others,  warmly  seconded  the  pro 
position,  and  it  was  adopted  by  the  convention.*  This 
act  told  Governor  Dunmore  and  his  royal  master,  in  lan 
guage  that  could  not  be  mistaken,  that  Virginia  was  de 
termined  to  exercise  with  freedom  all  the  privileges 
guarantied  to  her  by  the  British  Constitution.! 

In  August  1774,  the  Virginia  convention  elected  Mr. 
Nelson  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress,  and  he  took 
his  seat  in  September.  There  he  was  very  active,  and 
gave  such  entire  satisfaction  to  his  constituents  that  he 
was  unanimously  re-elected  for  1776.  Although  he  sel 
dom  took  part  in  the  debates,  he  was  assiduous  and  effi 
cient  in  committee  duty.  H£  was  a  zealous  supporter  of 
the  proposition  for  independence,  and  voted  for  and 
signed  the  declaration  thereof. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  Mr.  Nelson  was  seized  with  an 
alarming  illness,  which  confined  its  attack  chiefly  to  his 
head,  and  nearly  deprived  him,  for  a  time,  of  his  powers 
of  memory.  His  friends  urged  him  to  withdraw  from 
Congress  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  his  health,  but  he 
was  loath  to  desert  his  post.  He  was,  however,  compelled 
to  leave  Philadelphia,  and  he  returned  to  Virginia  to  re 
cruit,  with  the  hope  and  expectation  of  speedily  resuming 
his  seat  in  Congress.  But  his  convalescence  was  slow, 
and  when  the  convention  met,  he  resigned  his  seat  and 
retired  to  private  life.  But  he  was  not  suffered  long  to 

*  Mr.  Nelson  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  one  regiment,  Patrick  Henry  of 
another,  and  Richard  Henry  Lee  of  another,  each  holding  the  rank  of  colonel. 

t  It  was  not  long  before  the  wisdom  of  those  military  movements  became  ap 
parent,  for  the  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  as  well  as  those  of  some  of  the  other 
colonies,  attempted  to  secure  the  powder  and  other  munitions  of  war  in  the  public 
magazines,  under  a  secret  order  from  the  British  ministry.  This  movement 
clearly  divulged  the  premeditated  design  of  disarming  the  people,  and  reducing 
them  to  slavery.  The  interesting  movements  in  Virginia  which  immediately  pre 
ceded  the  abdication  of  the  royal  governor,  and  his  escape  on  board  a  British  ship- 
of-war,  cannot  be  detailed  within  our  brief  space,  ax.  3  we  must  rtier  the  reader  ta 
the  published  history  of  the  times. 


THOMAS    NELSON,  JR.  191 

remain  there,  for  the  appearance  of  a  British  fleet  off  the 
coast  of  Virginia,  and  the  contemplated  attack  of  the 
enemy  upon  the  almost  defenceless  seaboard,  called  him 
into  the  field  at  the  head  of  the  militia  of  the  State.* 
The  alarm  soon  subsided,  for  the  fleet  of  Lord  Howe,  in 
stead  of  landing  a  force  upon  Virginia,  sailed  up  the 
Chesapeake  bay  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  attack,  by 
land,  upon  Philadelphia. 

About  this  time,  the  financial  embarrassments  of  Con 
gress  caused  that  body  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  young 
men  of  the  Union,  of  wealth  and  character,  to  aid  in  re 
cruiting  the  army,  and  otherwise  assisting  their  country. 
Mr.  Nelson  entered  heartily  into  the  measure,  and  by  the 
free  use  of  his  influence  and  purse,  he  raised  a  volunteer 
corps,  who  placed  him  at  their  head,  and  proceeded  to 
join  Washington  at  Philadelphia.!  Their  services  were 
not  called  into  requisition,  and  they  returned  home,  bear 
ing  the  honor  of  a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress.  The 
physical  activity  which  this  expedition  produced,  had 
an  excellent  effect  upon  General  Nelson's  health,  and 
in  1779,  he  consented  to  be  again  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  Continental  Congress.  He  took  his  seat  in 
February,  but  a  second  attack  of  his  old  complaint 
obliged  him  to  leave  it  in  April,  and  return  home.  In 
May,  the  predatory  operations  of  the  enemy  upon  the 
coast,  in  burning  Portsmouth,  and  threatening  Norfolk 
and  other  places,  caused  General  Nelson  again  to  resume 
the  services  of  the  field.  He  ccillected  a  large  force  and 

*  Mr.  Nelson's  popularity  at  that  time  in  Virginia  was  almost  unbounded.  Tit 3 
governor  and  council  appointed  him  Brigadier  General  and  Commander-in-chief 
of  the  military  forces  of  the  State. 

t  The  sudden  call  of  the  militia  from  their  homes  left  many  families  in  embar 
rassed  circumstances,  for  a  great  part  of  the  agricultural  operations  were  sus 
pended.  General  Nelson  used  the  extent  of  his  means  in  ameliorating  the  con 
dition  of  their  families,  by  having  his  own  numerous  servants  till  their  land.  Ho 
also  distributed  his  money  liberally  among  them,  and  thus  more  than  a  hundred 
families  were  kept  from  absolute  want. 


J  9?.  VIRGINIA. 

proceeded  to  Yorktown,  but  the  fleet  of  the  enemy  soon 
afterward  returned  to  New- Y oik. 

In  1781,  Virginia  became  the  chief  theatre  of  warlike 
operations.  The  traitor  Arnold,  and  General  Phillips, 
with  a  small  flotilla  ravaged  the  coasts  and  ascended  the 
rivers  on  predatory  excursions;  and  Cornwallis,  from 
southern  fields  of  strife,  marched  victoriously  over  the 
lower  counties  of  the  State.  About  this  time,  the  term 
of  Mr.  Jefferson's  official  duties  as  Governor  of  the  State 
expired,  and  General  Nelson  was  elected  his  successor. 
This,  however,  did  not  drive  him  from  the  field,  but  as 
ooth  governor  and  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia 
of  the  State,*  he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  con 
siderable  force,  and  formed  a  junction  with  La  Fayette, 
who  had  been  sent  there  to  check  the  northward 
progress  of  Cornwallis.  By  great  personal  exertions  and 
a  liberal  use  of  his  own  funds,t  he  succeeded  in  keeping 
his  force  together  until  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  at 
Yorktown.  He  headed  a  body  of  militia  in  the  siegr»,  of 
that  place,  and  although  he  owned  a  fine  mansion  in  the 
town,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  bombard  it.J  In  this  as  in 

*  The  active  Colonel  Tarleton,  of  the  British  army,  made  every  effort  to  effect 
the  capture  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia.  He  succeeded  in  getting  some  into  his 
custody,  and  so  irregular  became  their  meetings,  in  consequence  of  being  fre 
quently  obliged  to  disperse  and  flee  for  personal  safety,  that  they  passed  an  act 
which  placed  the  government  of  the  State  in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  hia 
council.  The  council,  too,  being  scattered,  General  Nelson  had  the  whole  re- 
sponsibility  laid  upon  his  shoulders,  and  in  the  exercise  of  his  individual  powers 
he  was  compelled,  by  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  to  do  some  things  that  were  not 
strictly  legal ;  but  the  legislature  subsequently  legalized  all  his  acts. 

t  Mr.  Nelson  made  many  and  great  pecuniary  sacrifices  for  his  country.  When, 
in  1780,  the  French  fleet  was  hourly  expected,  Congress  felt  it  highly  necessary 
that  provision  should  be  made  for  them.  But  its  credit  was  prostrate,  and  its 
calls  upon  the  States  were  tardily  responded  to.  Virginia  proposed  to  raise  two 
millions  of  dollars,  and  Mr.  Nelson  at  once  opened  a  subscription  list  But  many 
wealthy  men  told  Mr.  Nelson  that  they  would  not  contribute  a  penny  on  the  secu 
rity  ot  the  Commonwealth,  but  they  would  lend  him  all  he  wanted.  He  at  onca 
added  his  personal  security. 

J  During  the  siege  he  observed  that  while  the  Americans  poured  their  shot  and 
ehells  thick  and  fast  into  every  part  of  the  town,  they  seemed  carefully  to  avoid 


THOMAS    NELSON,  JR.  193 

everything  else,  his  patriotism  was  conspicuous,  and 
General  Washington  in  his  official  account  of  the  siege, 
made  honorable  mention  of  the  great  services  of  Gover 
nor  Nelson  and  his  militia. 

Within  a  month  after  the  battle  of  Yorktown,  Governor 
Nelson,  finding  his  health  declining,  resigned  his  office 
and  retired  to  private  life.  It  was  at  this  period,  while 
endeavoring  to  recruit  his  health  by  quiet  and  repose, 
that  he  was  charged  with  mal-practice,  while  governor,  as 
alluded  to  in  a  preceding  note.  A  full  investigation  took 
place,  and  the  legislature,  as  before  mentioned,  legalized 
his  acts,  and  they  also  acquitted  him  of  all  the  charges 
preferred.  He  never  again  appeared  in  public  life,  but 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  alternately  at  his  man 
sion  in  Yorktown,  and  his  estate  at  Offly.  His  health 
gradually  declined  until  1789,  when,  on  the  fourth  day 
of  January,  his  useful  life  closed.  He  was  in  the  fifty- 
third  year  of  his  age. 

firing  in  the  direction  of  his  house.  Governor  Nelson  inquired  why  his  house  wa» 
epared,  and  was  informed  that  it  was  out  of  personal  regard  for  him.  lie  at  once 
begged  them  not  to  make  any  difference  on  that  account,  and  at  once  a  well  di 
rected  fire  waa  opened  upon  it.  At  that  moment  a  number  of  British  officers  oc 
cupied  it,  and  were  at  dinner  enjoying  a  feast,  and  making  merry  with  wine.  Th« 
shots  of  the  Americans  entered  the  house,  and  killing  two  of  the  officers,  effec- 
tualJy  ended  the  conviviality  of  the  party. 


RANCIS  LTGHTFOOT  LEE,  a  younger  bro 
ther  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  was  born 
in  Westmoreland  county,  Virginia,  on 
the  fourteenth  day  of  October,  1734 
He  was  too  young  when  his  father  died 
to  be  sent  abroad  to  be  educated,  but 
was  favoi  ed  with  every  advantage  in  the  way  of  learn 
in"-  which  the  colony  afforded.  He  was  placed  at  ap 
early  age  under  the  care  of  the  Reverend  Docto? 
Craig,  a  Scotch  clergyman  of  eminent  piety  and  learn- 
ing.  His  excellent  tutor  not  only  educated  his  head  hut 

194 


FRANCIS    LIGH'  FOOT    LEE.  195 

iis  heart,  and  laid    the  foundation   of  character,    upon 
which  the  noble  superstructure,  which  his  useful  life  ex 
hibited,  was  reared. 

On  the  return  of  Richard  Henry  Lee  from  England, 
whither  he  had  been  to  acquire  a  thorough  education, 
Francis,  who  was  then  just  stepping  from  youth  into  man 
hood,  was  deeply  impressed  with  his  various  acquirements 
and  polished  manners,  and  adopted  him  as  a  model  for 
imitation.  He  leaned  upon  his  brother's  judgment  in  all 
matters,  and  the  sentiments  which  moved  the  one  im 
pelled  the  other  to  action.  And  when  his  brother  with 
his  sweet  voice  and  persuasive  manner,  endeavored,  by 
popular  harangues,  to  arouse  his  friends  and  neighbors  to 
a  sense  of  the  impending  danger,  which  act  after  act  of 
British  oppression  shadowed  forth,  Francis  caught  his 
spirit ;  and  when  he  was  old  enough  to  engage  in  the 
strife  of  politics,  he  was  a  full-fledged  patriot,  and  with 
a  "  pure  heart  and  clean  hands"  he  espoused  the  cause  of 
freedom. 

In  1765,  Mr.  Lee  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Vir 
ginia  House  of  Burgesses,  for  Loudon  county,  while  his 
brother  was  member  of  the  same  House,  for  Westmoreland 
county.  By  annual  election,  he  continued  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Assembly  for  Loudon,  until  1772,  when  he  mar 
ried  the  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Taylor,  of  Richmond, 
and  moved  to  that  city.  He  was  at  once  elected  a  mem 
ber  fo»  Richmond,  and  continued  to  represent  that  county 
until  1775,  when  the  Virginia  Convention  elected  him  a 
delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  During  his  whole 
term  of  service  in  the  General  Assembly  of  his  State,  he 
always  acted  in  concert  with  the  patriotic  burgesses. 
Mr.  Lee  was  not  a  fluent  speaker,  and  seldom  engaged 
in  debate  ;  but  his  sound  judgment,  unwavering  principles, 
and  persevering  industry,  made  him  a  useful  member  of 
any  legislative  assembly.  He  sympathized  with  his  bro 


196  VIRGINIA. 

ther  in  his  yearnings  for  independence,  and  it  was  with 
great  joy,  that  he  voteM  for  and  signed  the  instrument 
which  declared  his  country  free. 

Mr.  Lee  continued  in  Congress,  until  1779,  and  was 
the  member,  for  Virginia,  of  the  committee  which  framed 
the  Articles  of  Confederation.  Early  in  the  spring  of 
1779,  he  retired  from  Congress  and  returned  home,  with 
the  intention  of  withdrawing  wholly  from  public  life,  to 
enjoy  those  sweets  of  domestic  quiet  which  he  so  ardently 
loved.  But  his  fellow  citizens  were  unwilling  to  dispense 
with  his  valuable  services,  and  elected  him  a  member  of 
the  Virginia  Senate.  He,  however,  remained  there  but 
for  a  brief  season,  and  then  bade  adieu  to  public  employ 
ments.  He  could  never  again  be  induced  to  leave  his  do 
mestic  pleasures  ;  and  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  the  enjoyments  to  be  derived 
from  reading  and  study,  and  the  cheerful  intercourse  with 
friends.  Possessed  of  ample  wealth,  he  used  it  like  a 
philosopher  and  a  Christian  in  dispensing  its  blessings  for 
the  benefit  of  his  country  and  his  fellow  men. 

In  April,  1797,  he  was  prostrated  by  an  attack  of  pleu 
risy,  which  terminated  his  life  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days.  He  was  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age.  Hia 
wife  was  attacked  by  the  same  disease,  and  died  a  few 
days  after  the  decease  of  her  husband. 


BRAXTON  was  bom   at  Newington, 
in  King  and   Queen's   county,  Virginia,  on 
the  tenth  of  September,  1736.     His  father, 
George  Braxton,  was  a  wealthy  farmer,  and 
highly  esteemed  among  the  planters  of  Vir 
ginia.     His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Robert  Carter, 
who,  for  a  time,  was  president  of  the  royal  council  for 
that  State.     They  both  died  while  Carter  and  his  brother 
George  were  quite  young. 

Carter  Braxton  was  educated  at  the  college  of  William 
and  Mary,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  on  leaving 
that  institution,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Judith  Robinso» 
the  daughter  of  a  wealthy  planter  in  Middlesex  county. 
His  own  large  fortune  was  considerably  augmented  by 
this  marriage,  and  he  was  considered  one  of  the  wealthiest 
men  in  his  native  county.* 

In  1757,  Mr.  Braxton  went  to  England,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  self  improvement  and  personal  gratification.  He 
remained  there  until  1760,  when  he  returned  to  America, 
and  soon  afterward  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Corbin, 
the  royal  receiver-general  of  the  customs  of  Virginia.! 
Notwithstanding  the  social  position,  and  patrician  con 
nections  of  Mr.  Braxton,  which  would  seem  naturally  to 
have  attached  him  to  the  aristocracy,  he  was  among  the 
earliest  in  Virginia  who  raised  the  voice  of  patriotism. 
Tn  1765  he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses. 
How  much  earlier  he  appeared  in  public  life  is  not  cer 
tainly  known.  He  was  present  when  Patrick  Henry's 

*  His  wife  died  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  her  second  child,  when  she  was  not 
quite  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

t  Mr.  Braxton  had  a  Ufrge  family  by  his  second  wife.  She  was  the  mother  of 
•iirteen  children. 

137 


198  VIRGINIA. 

resolutions  respecting  the  Stamp  Act,  were  introduced, 
and  was  one  of  those  who,  fired  by  the  wonderful  elo 
quence  of  the  orator  on  that  occasion,  boldly  voted  in  sup 
port  of  them.* 

Mr.  Braxton  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Conven 
tion  in  1769,  when  Lord  Botetourt,  one  of  the  best  dis 
posed  royal  governors  that  ever  ruled  in  Virginia,  sud 
denly  dissolved  it,  in  consequence  of  some  acts  therein 
which  he  deemed  treasonable.  Mr.  Braxton  was  one  of 
the  members  who  immediately  retired  to  a  private  room 
and  signed  a  non -importation  agreement.  Lord  Bote 
tourt  died  toward  the  close  of  1770,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Lord  Dunmore,  a  man  of  very  defective  judgment  and 
unyielding  disposition,  whose  unpopular  management 
greatly  increased  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  ii  yal  misrule 
in  Virginia.  During  the  interval  between  the  death  of 
Botetourt  and  the  arrival  of  Dunmore,  Mr.  Braxton  held 
the  office  of  high  sheriff  of  the  county  where  he  resided, 
but  he  refused  to  hold  it  under  the  new  governor.  He 
was  one  of  the  eighty -nine  members  of  the  Assembly  who, 
on  the  dissolution  thereof  by  Governor  Dunmore,  in  the 
summer  of  1774,  recommended  a  general  convention  of 
the  people  of  Virginia,  to  meet  at  Williamsburg.  They 
did  so,  and  elected  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
which  met  at  Philadelphia  on  the  fourth  of  the  month  fol 
lowing.  Mr.  Braxton  was  a  member  of  that  convention. 

When,  in  1777,  the  attempt  of  Lord  Dunmore  to  take 

*  The  eloquence  of  Henry  on  that  occasion,  fell  like  successive  thunderbolts 
on  the  ears  of  the  timid  Assembly.  "  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  magnificent  de 
bate  on  those  resolutions,"  says  Mr.  Wirt,  "  while  he  was  descanting  on  the  tyr 
anny  of  the  obnoxious  Act,  that  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  and  with  the 
iook  of  a  fJod;  'Csssar  had  his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell  —  and 
George  the  Third'  —  'Treason!'  cried  the  Speaker  —  '  treason,  treason,' echoed 
from  every  part  of  the  House.  It  was  one  of  those  trying  moments  which  are 
decisive  of  character.  Henry  faltered  not  for  an  instant;  but  rising  to  a  loftier 
altitude,  and  fixing  on  the  Speaker  an  eye  of  the  most  determined  fire,  he  finished 
the  sentence  with  the  firmest  emphasis  — '  and  George  the  Third  -  may  profit  lo 
their  exsrrple.  If  that  be  tr^son  make  the  most  of  >.t.'  " 


CARTER    BRAXTON.  199 

the  ammunition  from  the  public  magazines  011  board  the 
Fowey  ship-of-war,  then  lying  off  Williamsburg,  excited 
the  people  to  the  highest  pitch,  and  threatened  open  re 
bellion  and  armed  resistance,*  Mr.  Braxton,  by  a  wise 
and  prudent  course,  succeeded  in  quelling  the  disturbance, 
and  in  bringing  about  such  an  arrangement  as  quite  satis 
fied  the  people,  and  probably  saved  the  town  from  de 
struction.t 

Mr.  Braxton  was  an  active  member  of  the  last  House 
of  Burgesses  that  convened  under  royal  authority  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  of  that  As 
sembly  to  whom  was  referred  the  difficulty  that  existed 
between  it  and  Governor  Dunmore.  It  was  while  this 
committee  was  in  conference,  that  the  tumult  above  al 
luded  to,  and  the  abdication  of  the  governor,  took  place, 
and  this,  of  course,  rendered  further  action  quite  unne 
cessary  ;  for  the  governor  refused  to  return  to  his  palace, 
and  the  legislature,  of  course,  would  not  go  on  board  the 
vessel  to  meet  him.  By  this  abdication  all  power  reverted 
to  the  people,  and  a  Provincial  Government  was  at  once 
formed  by  a  convention  of  the  inhabitants,  in  which  move 
ment  Mr.  Braxton  took  a  conspicuous  part,  and  was  chosen 
a  representative  in  the  newly  formed  Assembly. 

In  December,  1775,  he  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  Peyton  Randolph.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
favor  of  independence,  and  voted  for  and  signed  the 

*  Patrick  Henry  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  military  company,  and  inarched 
toward  Williamsburg,  to  demand  from  Lord  Dunmore  the  return  of  the  powder 
His  company  rapidly  augmented  in  numbers  as  he  approached  the  town,  and  he 
entered  it  at  the  head  of  an  overwhelming  force.  The  governor,  finding  resistance 
vain,  finally  agreed  to  pay  for  the  powder,  and  was  then  allowed  quietly  to  retire 
with  his  family  on  board  the  ship-of-war  in  the  river. 

t  The  captain  of  the  Fowey  had  declared  his  intention  to  fire  upon  and  destroy 
the  town,  if  the  governor  should  experience  any  personal  violence,  and  he  placed 
the  broadsid->  of  his  Teasel  parallel  with  the  shore,  and  shotted  his  guns  for  tu« 
purpose. 


200  VIRGINIA. 

Declaration.  He  remained  in  Congress  during  only  one 
session,  and  then  resumed  his  seat  in  the  Virginia  Legisla 
ture,  where  he  continued  with  but  little  interruption,  until 
1785.  In  1786,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  coun 
cil  of  the  State,  and  held  that  station  until  1791.  He  was 
elected  to  the  same  office  in  1794,  where  he  continued 
until  within  four  days  of  his  death.  This  event,  which 
was  occasioned  by  paralysis,  occurred  on  the  tenth  day 
of  October,  1797,  when  he  was  in  the  sixty-first  year  of 
his  age. 

Mr.  Braxton  was  not  a  brilliant  man,  but  he  was  a  tal 
ented  and  very  useful  one.  He  possessed  a  highly  cul 
tivated  mind,  and  an  imagination  of  peculiar  warmth  and 
vigor,  yet  the  crowning  attribute  of  his  character,  was 
sound  judgment  and  remarkable  prudence  and  fore 
thought.  These,  in  a  movement  like  the  American  Revo 
lution,  were  essential  elementsan  the  characters  of  those 
who  were  the  prominent  actors,  and  well  was  it  for  them 
and  for  posterity,  that  a  large  proportion  of  not  only  the 
Signers  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  but  those 
who  were  called  to  act  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  pos 
sessed  these  requisites  to  a  remarkable  degree.  While 
fiery  spirits  were  needed  to  arouse,  and  bold,  energetic 
men  were  necessary  to  control  and  guide,  the  success  of 
that  rebellion,  so  far  as  human  ken  can  penetrate,  de 
pended  upon  the  calm  judgment  and  well  directed  pru 
dence  of  a  great  body  of  the  patriots. 

Of  this  class  Mr.  Braxton  was  a  prominent  one.  His 
oratory,  though  not  brilliant,  was  graceful  and  flowing, 
and  it  was  persuasive  in  the  highest  degree.  He  always 
fixed  the  attention  of  his  auditors  and  seldom  failed  to 
convince  and  lead  them.  In  public,  as  well  as  in  private 
life,  his  virtue  and  morality  were  above  reproach,  and  aa 
a  public  bene&ctor,  his  death  was  widely  lamented. 


TJ,I  IAM  HOOPER  was  born  in  Boston, 
i'jdssachusetts,  on  the  seventeenth  day 
of  June,  1742.  His  father  was  a 
Scotchman  and  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  Soon  after 
leaving  that  inst?  ation,  he  emigrated  to  America,  and  fixed 
his  residence  at  Boston,  where  he  was  married.  William 
was  his  first  bcoi,  and  he  paid  particular  attention  to  his 
preparation  for  a  collegiate  course.  He  was  placed  un 
der  the  charge  of  Mr.  Lovell,  then  one  of  the  most  emi 
nent  instructors  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 

9*  201 


VQ2  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

Having  completed  his  preparatory  studies,  William  was 
entered  a  pupil  at  Harvard  University,  where  he  remained 
a  close  and  industrious  student  for  three  years,  and  in 
1760  he  graduated  with  distinguished  honors. 

His  father  designed  him  for  the  clerical  profession, 
but  as  he  evinced  a  decided  preference  for  the  bar, 
he  was  placed  as  a  student  in  the  office  of  the  cele 
brated  James  Otis.  On  the  completion  of  his  studies, 
perceiving  that  the  profession  was  quite  full  of  practicians 
in  Massachusetts,  he  went  to  North  Carolina,  where 
many  of  his  Scotch  relations  resided,  and  began  business 
in  that  province  in  1767. 

Mr.  Hooper  formed  a  circle  of  very  polished  acquain 
tances  there,  and  he  soon  became  highly  esteemed  among 
the  literary  men  of  the  province.  He  rose  rapidly 
in  his  profession,  and  in  a  very  short  time  he  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  bar  in  that  region.  He  was  greatly 
esteemed  by  the  officers  of  the  government,  and  his  suc 
cess  in  the  management  of  several  causes,  in  which  the 
government  was  his  client,  gave  him  much  influence. 

When,  in  1770— '71,  an  insurrectionary  movement  wa. 
set  on  foot  by  a  party  of  the  people  termed  the  "  Regula 
tors,"*  Mr.  Hooper  took  sides  with  the  government,  and 

*  This  movement  of  the  "  Regulators"  has  been  viewed  in  quite  opposing  lights ; 
one  party  regarding  them  as  only  a  knot  of  low-minded  malcontents,  who  had 
everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose,  and  who  hoped  by  getting  up  an  excite 
ment,  to  secure  something  for  themselves  in  the  general  scramble.  This  was  the 
phase  in  which  they  appeared  to  Mr.  Hooper,  and  thus  regarding  them,  he  felt  it 
his  duty  to  oppose  them  and  maintain  good  order  in  the  State.  Others  viewed 
them  as  patriots,  impelled  to  action  by  a  strong  sense  of  wrong  and  injustice,  the 
author  of  which  was  Governor  Try  on,  whose  oppressive  and  cruel  acts,  even  hi» 
partisans  couid  frot  deny.  From  all  the  lights  we  have  upon  the  subject,  we  can 
not  but  view  the  movement  as  a  truly  patriotic  one,  and  kindred  to  those  which 
eubsequentiy  took  place  in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  when  Boston  harbor  was 
»ade  a  teapot,  and  Patrick  Henry  drove  the  royal  governor  Dunmore  from  the 
Province  of  Virginia.  Governor  Tryon  was  a  tyrant  of  the  darkest  hue,  for  he 
commingled,  with  his  oppressions,  acts  of  the  grossest  immorality  and  wanton  cru 
elty.  Although  the  "  Regulators"  were  men  moving  in  the  common  walks  of  life, 
/and  doubtless  many  vagabonds  enrolled  themselves  among  them),  yet  the  rules 


WILLIAM   HOOPER.  203 

advised  and  assisted  Governor  Try  on  in  all  his  measures 
to  suppress  the  rebellion.  For  this,  he  was  branded  as  a 
royalist,  and  even  when  he  openly  advocated  the  cause  of 
the  patriots,  he  was  for  a  time  viewed  with  some  sus 
picion  lest  his  professions  were  unreal.  But  those  who 
knew  him  best,  knew  well  how  strongly  and  purely  burned 
tnat  flame  of  patriotism  which  his  zealous  instructor,  Mr. 
Otis,  had  lighted  in  his  bosom  ;  and  his  consistent  course 
in  public  life,  attested  his  sincerity. 

Mr.  Hooper  began  his  legislative  labors  in  1773,  when 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of 
North  Carolina,  for  the  town  of  Wilmington.  The  next 
year  he  was  returned  a  member  for  the  county  of  Hano 
ver  ;  and  from  his  first  entrance  into  public  life,  he  sympa 
thised  with  the  oppressed.  This  sympathy  led  him  early 
to  oppose  the  court  party  in  the  state,  and  so  vigorous 
was  his  opposition  that  he  was  soon  designated  by  the 
royalists  as  the  leader  of  their  enemies,  and  became  very 
obnoxious  to  them.  The  proposition  of  Massachusetts  for 
a  General  Congress  was  hailed  with  joy  in  North  Caro 
lina,  and  a  convention  of  the  people  was  called  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1774,  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration.  The 
convention  met  in  Newbern,  and  after  passing  resolutions 
approving  of  the  call,  they  appointed  William  Hooper 
their  first  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress.  Although 
younger  than  a  large  majority  of  the  members,  he  was 
placed  upon  two  of  the  most  important  committees  in  that 
body,  whose  business  it  was  to  arrange  and  propose  mea 
sures  for  action — a  duty  which  required  talents  and  judg 
ment  of  the  highest  order. 

Mr.  Hooper  was  again  elected  to  Congress  in  1775, 
and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which  drew  up  an 

of  government  they  adopted,  the  professions  they  made  and  the  practices  they 
exhibited,  all  bear  the  impress  of  genuine  patriotism  ;  and  we  cannot  but  regard 
>he  blood  shed  on  the  occasion  by  the  infamous  Tryon,  as  the  blood  of  the  earlt 
martyrs  of  our  Revolution. 


204  iNORTH   CAROLINA. 

address  to  the  Assembly  of  the  island  of  Jamaica.  This 
address  was  from  his  pen,  and  was  a  clear  and  able  expo 
sition  of  the  existing  difficulties  between  Great  Britain 
and  her  American  Colonies.  He  was  again  returned  a 
member  in  1776,*  and  was  in  his  seat  in  time  to  vote  for 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  affixed  his  signa 
ture  to  it,  on  the  second  of  August  following.  He 
was  actively  engaged  in  Congress  until  March,  1777, 
when  the  derangment  of  his  private  affairs,  and  the  safety 
of  his  family,  caused  him  to  ask  for  and  obtain  leave  of 
absence,  and  he  returned  home. 

Like  all  the  others  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  Mr.  Hooper  was  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the 
British,  and  on  all  occasions,  they  used  every  means  in 
their  power  to  possess  his  person,  harass  his  family,  and 
destroy  his  estate.  When  the  storm  of  the  Revolution 
subsided,  and  the  sun-light  of  peace  beamed  forth,  he  re 
sumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  did  not  again 
appear  in  public  life  until  1786,  when  he  was  appointed 
by  Congress  one  of  the  judges  of  the  federal  court  es 
tablished  to  adjudicate  in  the  matter  of  a  dispute  about 
territorial  jurisdiction,  between  Massachusetts  and  New 
York.  The  cause  was  finally  settled  by  commissioners, 
and  not  brought  before  that  court  at  all. 

Mr.  Hooper  now  withdrew  from  public  life,  for  he  felt 
that  a  fatal  disease  was  upon  him.  He  died  at  Hillsbo 
rough,  in  October,  1790,  aged  forty-eight  years. 

*  He  was  at  home  for  some  time  during  the  spring  of  that  year,  attending  tw<* 
different  Conventions  that  met  in  North  Carolina,  one  at  Hillsborough,  the  seat  oi 
the  Provincial  Congress,  the  other  at  Halifax.  The  Convention  at  the  former  place 
put  forth  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain.  This  address  was  written  by 
Mr.  Hooper  ;  and  we  take  occasion  here  to  remark,  that  as  early  as  the  twentieth  ol 
May,1775,  a  convention  of  the  Committees  of  Safety  of  North  Carolina  met  at  Char 
lotte  Court  House,  in  Mecklenburg  county,  and  by  a  series  of  resolutions,  declared 
themselves  free  and  independent  of  the  British  Crown  ;  to  the  eupport  of  which 
they  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor.  For  an  account  of 
Ihia  Mecklenburg  Convention  we  refer  the  readeV  to  a  work  of  the  writer,  en- 
titied  "  1776,  or  the  War  of  Independence,"  pajro  155. 


parents  of  JOSEPH  HEVVES  were  na- 
Itives  of  Connecticut,  and  belonged  to 
[the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers. 
!  Immediately  after  their  marriage  they 
moved  to  New  Jersey,  and  purchased 
a  small  farm  at  Kingston,  within  a  short 
distance  of  Princeton.  It  was  there 
that  Joseph  was  born,  in  the  year  1730.  He  was  edu 
cated  at  the  college  in  Princeton,  and  at  the  close  of  hia 
studies  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  merchant  in  Philadelphia 
to  qualify  him  for  a  commercial  life.  On  the  terminiwM)T- 

205 


206  NOIITII    CAROLINA. 

of  his  apprenticeship,  his  father  furnished  him  with  a  little 
money  capital,  to  which  he  added  the  less  fleeting  capital 
of  a  good  reputation,  and  he  commenced  mercantile  busi 
ness  on  his  own  account.  His  business  education  had 
been  thorough,  and  he  pursued  the  labors  of  commerce 
with  such  skill  and  success,  that  in  a  few  years  he  amassed 
an  ample  fortune. 

At  the  age  of  thirty  years,  Mr.  Hewes  moved  to  North 
Carolina,  and  settled  in  Edenton,  which  became  his  home 
for  life.  He  entered  into  business  there,  and  his  upright 
ness  and  honorable  dealings  soon  won  for  him  the  pro 
found  esteem  of  the  people.  While  yet  a  comparative 
stranger  among  them,  they  evinced  their  appreciation  of 
his  character,  by  electing  him  a  member  of  the  legislature 
of  North  Carolina,  in  1763,  and  so  faithfully  did  he  dis 
charge  his  duties,  that  they  re-elected  him  several  consecu 
tive  years. 

Mr.  Hewes  was  among  the  earliest  of  the  decided  pa 
triots  of  North  Carolina,  and  used  his  influence  in  bring 
ing  about  a  Convention  of  the  people  of  the  State,  to  sec 
ond  the  call  of  Massachusetts  for  a  General  Congress. 
The  convention  that  met  in  the  summer  of  1774,  elected 
him  one  of  the  delegates  for  that  State,  in  the  Continental 
Congress  that  met  at  Philadelphia  in  September  follow 
ing.  He  took  his  seat  on  the  fourteenth  of  the  month, 
and  was  immediately  placed  upon  the  committee  appointed 
to  draw  up  a  Declaration  of  Rights.  During  that  session 
he  was  actively  engaged  in  maturing  a  plan  for  a  general 
non-importation  agreement  throughout  the  Colonies,  and 
he  voted  for  and  signed  it.  In  this  act  his  devoted  patri 
otism  was  manifest,  for  it  struck  a  deadly  blow  at  the 
business  in  which  he  was  engaged.  It  was  a  great  sacri 
fice  for  him  to  make,  yet  he  cheerfully  laid  it  upon  the 
altar  of  Freedom. 

Mr.  Hewes  wras  again  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress  in 


JOSEPH    HE  WES.  207 

1775,  and  took  his  seat  at  the  opening,  on  the  tenth  of 
May.  He  seldom  engaged  in  debate,  but  as  an  unwearied 
committee-man,  he  performed  signal  service  there.  Ho 
was  at  the  head  of  the  naval  committee,  and  was  in  ef 
fect  the  first  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  "  Secret  Committee,'"'  to 
which  we  have  before  alluded  in  these  memoirs. 

Mr.  Hewes  was  a  member  of  Congress  for  1776,  and 
North  Carolina  having  early  taken  a  decided  stand  in  fa 
vor  of  independence,  his  own  views  upon  this  question 
were  fully  sustained  by  his  instructions,  and  he  voted  for, 
and  signed  the  Declaration  thereof.  As  soon,  thereafter 
as  the  business  of  the  session  would  admit,  he  returned 
home,  for  the  troubles  there  demanded  his  presence,  and 
his  private  affairs  needed  his  attention  to  save  his  fortune 
from  being  scattered  to  the  winds.  He  remained  at 
home  until  July,  1779,  when  he  resumed  his  seat  in  Con 
gress.  But  his  constitution,  naturally  weak,  could  not  sup 
port  the  arduous  labors  of  his  station,  and  his  health  failed 
so  rapidly,  that  he  was  obliged  to  resign  his  seat.  He 
left  it  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  October,  1779,  and  being 
too  unwell  to  travel,  he  remained  m  Philadelphia.  But 
he  only  lived  eleven  days  after  he  left  his  seat  in  Con 
gress.  He  died  on  the  tenth  of  November  following,  in 
the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  the  first  and  only 
one  of  all  the  signers  of  the  Declaration,  who  died  at  the 
seal  of  Government,  while  attending  to  public  duty,  and 
his  remains  wers  followed  to  the  grave  by  Congress  in  a 
body  and  alarg?*  concourse  of  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia, 


OHN  PENN  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Carolina,  Virginia,  on  the  seventeenth 
of  May,  1741.  His  father,  Moses  Penn, 
seemed  to  be  utterly  neglectful  of  the 
intellectual  cultivation  of  his  son ;  ami, 
although  he  possessed  the  means  of  giv 
ing  him  a  good  English  education,  he  allowed  him  no 
other  opportunity,  than  that  which  two  or  three  years'  tu 
ition  in  a  common  county  school  in  his  neighborhood  af 
forded.  Mr.  Penn  died  when  his  son  was  about  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  left  him  the  sole  possessor  of  a  compe 
tent,  though  not  large  estate. 

It  has  been  justly  remarked,  that  the  comparative  ob 
scurity  in  which  the  youth  of  Penn  was  passed,  was,  un 
der  the  circumstances,  a  fortunate  thing  for  him,  for  he  had 
formed  no  associates  with  the  gay  and  thoughtless,  which, 
on  his  becoming  sole  master  of  an  estate,  would  have  led 
him  into  scenes  of  vice  and  dissipation,  that  might  have 
proved  his  ruin.  His  mind,  likewise,  was  possessed  of 
much  vigor,  and  he  was  naturally  inclined  to  pursue  an 
honorable  and  virtuous  course. 

Youn"-  Penn  was  a  relative  of  the  celebrated  Edmund 

o 

Pendleton,  and  resided  near  him.  That  gentleman  kindly 
gave  him  the  free  use  of  his  extensive  library,  and  this 
opportunity  for  acquiring  knowledge  was  industriously 
improved.  He  resolved  to  qualify  himself  for  the  pro 
fession  o  the  law,  and  strong  in  his  faith  that  he  should 
be  successful,  he  entered  upon  a  course  of  legal  study, 
guided  and  instructed  Dnly  by  his  own  judgment  and 
good  common  sense.  He  succeeded  admirably,  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

208 


JOHN    PENN.  209 

in  his  native  county.  His  profession  soon  developed  a 
native  eloquence  before  inert  and  unsuspected,  and  by  it, 
in  connection  with  close  application  to  business,  he  rapidly 
soared  to  eminence.  His  eloquence  was  of  that  sweet 
persuasive  kind,  which  excites  all  the  tender  emotions 
of  the  soul,  and  possesses  a  controlling  power  at  times 
irresistible. 

In  1774  Mr.  Penn  moved  to  North  Carolina,  and  corn- 
menced  the  practice  of  his  profession  there.  So  soon  did 
his  eminent  abilities  and  decided  patriotism  become 
known  there,  that  in  1775  he  was  elected  a  delegate  from 
that  state  to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  he  took  his 
seat  in  that  body,  in  October  of  that  year.  He  remained 
there  three  successive  years,  and  faithfully  discharged  the 
duties  of  his  high  station.  Acting  in  accordance  with  the 
instruction  of  his  state  convention,  and  the  dictates  of  his 
own  judgment  and  feelings,  he  voted  for  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  joyfully  placed  his  sign  manual  to 
the  parchment. 

When,  in  1780,  Cornwallis  commenced  his  victorious 
march  northward  from  Camden,  in  South  Carolina,*  the 
the  western  portion  of  North  Carolina,  which  lay  in  his 
path,  was  almost  defenceless.  Mr.  Penn  was  a  resident 
of  that  portion  of  the  State,  and  the  legislature,  unable  to 
act  efficiently  in  its  collective  capacity,  conferred  upon  him 
almost  absolute  dictatorial  powers,  and  allowed  him  to 
take  such  measures  for  the  defence  of  the  state,  as  the 

*  After  the  defeat  of  the  Americans  under  General  Gates,  at  Sanders'  Creole, 
near  Camden,  Lord  Cornwallis  left  Colonel  Ferguson  to  keep  the  Americans  in 
South  Carolina  at  bay,  and  at  once  proceeded  northward  with  the  intention  of 
invading  Virginia.  He  had  made  arrangements  for  General  Leslie  to  reinforce 
him  in  that  State,  by  landing  somewhere  upon  the  shore  of  the  Chesapeake.  But 
while  pursuing  his  march  northward,  and  greatly  harassed  by  bands  of  patriots, 
who  had  been  set  in  motion  by  the  active  energies  of  Penn,  he  heard  of  tha 
defeat  and  death  of  Colonel  Ferguson  at  King's  Mountain,  and  he  hastened  back 
to  South  Carolina  ind  thus  almost  defenceless  Virginia  was  saved  from  a  destruc 
tive  invasion. 


210  NORTH   CAROLINA. 

exigency  of  the  case  required.  This  was  an  extraordi 
nary  evidence  of  great  public  confidence,  but  in  no  parti 
cular  did  he  abuse  the  power  thus  conferred.  He  per 
formed  his  duties  with  admirable  fidelity  and  skill  and 
received  the  thanks  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  general 
benedictions  of  the  people. 

Mr.  Penn  retired  from  public  life  in  1781,  and  resumed 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  But  he  was  again  called 
out  in  1784,  when  Robert  Morris,  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Confederation,  appointed  him  a  Sub-Treasurer,  or  receiv 
er  of  taxes  for  North  Carolina.  It  was  an  office  of  honor 
and  great  trust,  but  unpopular  in  the  extreme.  Still  he 
was  willing  to  serve  his  country  in  any  honorable  capa 
city  where  he  could  be  useful,  but  he  soon  found  that  he 
would  do  but  little  that  could  in  anywise  conduce  to  the 
public  weal,  and  after  holding  the  office  a  few  weeks, 
he  resigned  it,  and  resumed  his  private  business.  He  did 
not  again  appear  in  public  life,  arid  in  September,  1788, 
he  died  in  the  forty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

The  life  of  John  Penn  furnishes  another  example  of 
the  high  attainments  which  may  crown  him  who,  though 
surrounded  by  adverse  circumstances,  by  persevering 
industry  cultivates  mind  and  heart,  and  aims  at  an  ex 
alted  mark  of  distinction.  If  young  men  would,  like 
him,  resolve  to  rise  above  the  hindrance  of  adverse  cir 
cumstances  and  push  boldly  on  toward  some  honorable 
goal,  they  would  seldom  fail  to  reach  it,  and  the  race 
would  be  found  to  I  3  far  easier  than  they  imagined  it  tc 
oo,  when  girdingfoi  its  trial, 


DWARD  RUTLEDGE  was  of  Irish  de- 
scent.  His  father,  Doctor  John  Rut- 
ledge,  emigrated  from  Ireland  to 
America,  in  1735,  and  settled  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He 
there  commenced  practice  as  a  phy- 
!| )  f/}  sician,  in  which  he  was  very  suc 
cessful,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  he  married  a 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  Hert,  who  brought  him,  as  a 
marriage  dowry,  an  ample  fortune.  When  sho  was 

211 


212  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

twenty-seven  years  of  age,  Dr.  Rutledge  died,  and  left 
her  with  a  family  of  seven  children,  of  whom  Edward, 
the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  the  youngest.  He  was 
born  at  Charleston,  in  November,  1749. 

After  receiving  a  good  English  and  classical  educ&rion, 
young  Rutledge  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  his 
elder  brother,  John,  who  was  then  a  distinguished  mem 
ber  of  the  Charleston  bar.  As  a  finishing  stroke  in  his 
legal  education,  preparatory  to  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
he  was  sent  to  England  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  entered 
as  a  student  at  the  Inner  Temple,  London,*  where  he 
had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  forensic  eloquence 
of  those  master  spirits  of  the  times,  Mansfield,  Wedder- 
burn,  Thurlow,  Dunning,  Chatham  and  Camden.  He 
returned  to  Charleston  about  the  close  of  1772,  was  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced  practice  early  in  1773. 

Mr.  Rutledge,  though  young,  had  watched  with  much 
interest  the  political  movements  of  the  day,  and  when  old 
enough  to  act  as  well  as  think,  he  took  a  decisive  stand 
on  the  side  of  the  patriots.  This,  together  with  the  dis 
tinguished  talents  which  he  manifested  on  his  first  appear 
ance  at  the  bar,  drew  toward  him  the  attention  of  the 
public  mind,  when  the  Massachusetts  Circular  aroused 
the  people  to  vigorous  action.  Although  then  only 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  the  convention  of  South  Caro 
lina  elected  him  a  delegate  to  the  first  General  Congress, 
and  he  was  present  at  the  opening,  on  the  fifth  of  Sep 
tember,  1774.  There  he  was  active  and  fearless,  and  re 
ceiving  the  entire  approbation  of  his  constituents,  he  was 
re-elected  in  1775,  and  1776  :  and  when,  preparatory  to 

*  A  rrumber  of  Inns  of  Court,  or  sort  of  colleges  for  teaching  the  law  were  es 
tablished  in  London  at  various  times.  The  Temple  (of  which  there  were  three 
Societies,  namely,  the  Inner,  the  Middle,  and  the  Outer)  was  originally  founded, 
and  the  Temple  Church  built,  by  the  Knights  Templar,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  H 
1185.  The  Inner  and  Middle  Temple  were  made  Inns  of  Law  In  the  reign  of  Ed 
ward  III.,  about  1340 ;  the  Out*r,  not  until  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  about  1360 
See  Stowe't  Survey. 


EDWARD    RUTLEDGE.  213 

the  coru>ideration  of  the  subject  of  absolute  independence, 
Congress,  by  resolution,  recommended  the  several  colo 
nies  to  form  permanent  governments,  Mr.  Rutledge  was 
associated  with  Richard  Henry  Lee  and  John  Adams, 
in  preparing  the  prefatory  preamble  to  the  recommenda 
tion.  He  was  warmly  in  favor  of  independence,  and 
fearlessly  voted  for  the  Declaration,  notwithstanding  there 
were  large  numbers  of  people  in  his  State  opposed  to  it, 
some  through  timidity,  some  through  self-interest,  and 
some  through  decided  attachment  to  the  royal  cause. 

When,  during  the  summer  of  1776,  Lord  Howe,  came 
commissioned  to  prosecute  the  war  or  negotiate  for 
peace,  Mr.  Rutledge  was  appointed  one  of  a  committee 
with  Dr.  Franklin  and  John  Adams,  to  meet  him  in 
conference  upon  Staten  Island.  The  commissioners 
were  instructed  not  to  enter  upon  negotiations  for  peace, 
except  in  the  capacity  of  representatives  of  free  states, 
and  having  independence  as  a  basis.  As  Lord  Howe 
could  not  thus  receive  them,  or  listen  to  such  proposals, 
the  conference,  as  was  anticipated,  failed  to  produce  any 
impoitant  results. 

Partly  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  partly  because  of 
the  disturbed  condition  of  his  State,  he  withdrew  from 
Congress  in  1777,  but  was  returned  again  in  1779.  In 
the  interval  he  was  actively  engaged  at  home  in  measures 
for  the  defence  of  the  State,  and  to  repel  invasion. 

Mr.  Rutledge  took  up  arms  and  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  a  corps  of  artillery.  In  1780,  while  Charleston 
was  invested  by  the  enemy,  he  was  active  in  affording 
succor  to  General  Lincoln,  then  within  the  besieged  city. 
In  one  of  these  operations,  in  attempting  to  throw  troops 
into  the  city,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  was  afterward 
sent  captive  to  St.  Augustine  in  Florida.*  He  remained 

*  After  the  fall  of  Charleston,  and  the  capture  of  Lincoln  &nd  the  American 
»rxny,  Cornwallis  became  fearful  of  the  influence  of  many  cfiizo-ns,  «nd  final!} 


214  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

a  prisoner  nearly  a  year,  and  was  then  exchanged  and 
set  at  liberty.  It  was  a  gloomy  time  for  the  patriots,  and 
the  stoutest  hearts  began  to  quail.  The  bulk  of  the 
southern  army,  under  Lincoln,  had  been  made  prisoners. 
But  still  hope  did  not  quite  expire,  and  the  successes  of 
Greene,  and  the  victories  of  Marion  and  Sumpter,  reani 
mated  the  fainting  hearts  of  the  republicans. 

After  the  British  evacuated  Charleston  in  1781,  Mr. 
Rutledge  retired,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profes 
sion  ;  and  for  about  seventeen  years,  his  time  was  alter 
nately  employed  in  the  duties  of  his  business  and  service 
in  the  Legislature  of  his  State.  In  the  latter  capacity 
he  uniformly  opposed  every  proposition  for  extending  the 
evils  of  slavery.* 

In  1794,  Mr.  Rutledge  was  elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate,  to  supply  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation 
of  Charles  Coteswoith  Pinckney;  and  in  1798,  he  was 
elected  Governor  of  his  native  State.  But  he  did  not 
live  to  serve  out  his  official  term.  He  had  suffered  much 
from  hereditary  gout,  and  on  returning  to  Charleston 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  which  sat  at 
Columbia,  he  caught  a  severe  cold,  that  brought  on  a 
paroxysm  of  his  disease  and  terminated  his  life  on  the 
twenty -third  day  of  January,  in  the  year  1800.  He  was 
in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age. 

adopted  a  most  cowardly  measure.  By  his  order,  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
(Gadsden,)  most  of  the  civil  and  military  officers,  and  some  others  of  the  friends 
of  the  republicans,  of  character,  were  taken  out  of  their  beds  and  houses  by  armed 
parties,  and  collected  at  toe  Exchange,  when  they  were  conveyed  on  board  a 
guard-ship,  and  transported  to  St.  Augustine.  Mr.  Rutledge  was  one  of  the  num  • 
bcr.  His  mother  did  not  escape  the  persecutions  of  their  masters.  Cornwallis  also 
feared  her  talents  and  influence,  and  compelled  her  to  leave  her  country  residence 
and  move  into  the  city,  where  she  would  be  more  directly  under  the  vigilant  eye 
of  hie  minions. 

*  As  a  means  of  rel'.sf  to  those  who,  during  the  war,  had  lost  a  great  many 
slaves,  and  were  pressed  for  payment  by  those  of  whom  they  were  purchased  on 
credit,  it  was  proposed  to  import  a  sufficient  number,  either  from  the  West  Indies 
or  from  Afric?  direct,  to  make  up  the  decency.  All  such  evil  propositions  met 
BO  favor  from  Edward  Rutledge. 


/ 

<r£/  Ay  ^^a  /££?     y^c^^ 

HOMAS  HAYWARD  was  born  in  St.  Luke  j 
parish,  South  Carolina,  in  the  year 
1746.  His  father,  Colonel  Dame  Hay- 
ward  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  planters 
in  the  Province,  and  fully  appreciating 
the  advantages  of  education,  he  placed 
his  son  Thomas  in  the  best  classical  school  in  that  region. 
He  was  a  thoughtful  and  industrious  student;  and  so 
readily  did  he  master  the  Latin,  that  he  read  with  fluency 
the  works  of  the  Roman  historians  and  poets,  in  that 
language.  ^,:- 

215 


216  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

As  soon  as  young  Hay  ward  had  completed  his  prepa» 
ratory  studies,  he  entered  as  a  student,  the  law  office  of 
Mr.  Parsons,  a  barrister  of  considerable  eminence  in 
South  Carolina,  at  that  time.  Having  accomplished  hia 
task  well,  his  father  sent  him  to  England  at  the  age  of 
about  twenty  years,  to  finish  his  legal  education  there.  He 
entered  one  of  the  Inns  of  court  at  the  Temple,  and  there 
he  prosecuted  his  studies  with  as  much  zeal  as  if  poverty 
had  been  his  inheritance,  and  the  bread  of  his  future  ex 
istence  depended  upon  his  personal  exertion  when  he 
should  enter  the  profession.  This  zeal  brought  him  in 
valuable  treasures  in  the  form  of  a  well-stored  mind,  and 
he  left  that  intellectual  retreat,  a  polished  lawyer. 

While  in  England,  Mr.  Hayward,  became  deeply  im 
pressed  with  the  injustice  of  the  prevailing  feeling  there, 
that  a  colonial  British  subject  was  quite  inferior  (and 
should  be  treated  as  such)  to  the  native  born  English 
man.  Such  was  the  sentiment  of  society,  and  upon  this 
sentiment,  the  government  seemed  to  act  by  appointing 
to  office  in  the  colonies  few  but  natives  of  the  British 
Islands ;  and  in  its  carelessness  of  the  rights  and  privi 
leges  of  the  colonists,  as  if  they  were  riot  equally  protec 
ted  by  the  broad  aegis  of  the  British  Constitution.  These 
things,  even  at  that  early  age,  alienated  his  affection  from 
'he  mother  country,  and  he  returned  to  his  native  land 
Adth  mortified  feelings,  and  a  heartfelt  desire  to  free  it 
from  the  bondage  of  trans-atlantic  rule. 

Before  returning  to  America,  Mr.  Hayward  visited 
several  of  the  states  of  Europe,  and  instead  of  being 
dazzled  by  the  pomp  and  trappings  of  royalty  and  its 
minions,  he  looked  upon  them  all  as  the  costly  and  blood 
stained  fruit  of  wrong  and  oppression  ;  and  he  saw  in  the 
toiling,  down-trodden  millions  of  the  producers,  such  a 
contrast  to  the  happy  laborers  of  his  own  dear  land,  that 
he  felt  an  affection  for  his  country  of  the  tenderest  naturev 


THOMAS    HAYVVARD,  JR.  217 

Bind  his  patriotism  took  deep  root,  even  while  he  stood 
before  the  throne  of  royal  rulers. 

Soon  after  his  return,  Mr.  Hayward  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  He  married  a  most  amiable 
and  accomplished  young  lady,  named  Matthews  ;  and  with 
a  sedateness  and  energy  of  purpose,  rare  at  his  age,  he 
commenced  his  career  of  usefulness.  He  was  among  the 
earliest  in  South  Carolina  who  resisted  the  oppressive 
measures  of  the  Home  Government,  and  from  the  pas 
sage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  until  the  battle  of  Lexington,  he 
consistently  and  zealously  promoted  the  patriot  cause,  ever 
repudiating  the  degrading  terms  of  conciliation — absolute 
submission — which  the  British  Government  demanded. 
The  openness  and  manly  frankness  with  which  he  es 
poused  the  patriot  cause,  made  him  a  leader  in  the  revo 
lutionary  movements  in  that  Province,  and  he  was  placed 
in  the  first  General  Assembly,  that  organized  after  the 
abdication  of  the  colonial  governor.  He  was  also  appoint 
ed  a  member  of  the  first  "  Committee  of  Safety"  there. 

In  1775,  Mr.  Hayward  was  chosen  a  delegate  to  the 
General  Congress.  He  at  first  modestly  declined  the 
honor,  but  being  waited  upon  personally  by  a  deputation 
of  the  people,  he  complied,  and  took  his  seat  early  in 
1776.  He  warmly  supported  Mr.  Lee's  motion  for  ab 
solution  from  British  rule,  when  brought  forward  in  June 
of  that  year,  and  he  joyfully  voted  for  and  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  He  remained  in  Con 
gress  until  1778,  when  he  accepted  the  appointment  of 
Judge  of  the  criminal  and  civil  courts  of  South  Carolina. 
This  acceptance  and  his  previous  offence  in  signing  the 
Declaration,  made  him  very  obnoxious  to  the  enemy,  and 
great  efforts  were  made,  through  the  treacherous  tories, 
to  get  possession  of  his  person.* 

,  *  The  position  he  held  was  one  of  great  danger  and  trial,  and  nothing  but  the 
promptings  of  pure  patriotism  could  have  kept  him  ther«,  for  his  pecuniary  mean* 

10 


218  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

Mr.  Hay  ward  held  a  military  commission  while  he 
was  Judge,  and  he  was  in  active  service,  with  Edward 
Rutletlge,  in  the  skirmish  with  the  enemy  at  Beaufort, 
in  1780.  In  that  skirmish  he  received  a  gun-shot  wound, 
which  scarred  him  for  life.  When,  soon  after,  Charles 
ton  was  captured  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  and  Admiral 
Arbuthnot,  Mr.  Hayward  was  taken  prisoner,  and  it  was 
generally  believed  that  he  would  be  excluded  from  the 
terms  of  capitulation,  as  an  arch  traitor.  This,  however, 
was  not  the  case,  and  he  was  sent,  with  Mr.  Rutledge 
and  others,  to  St.  Augustine,  in  Florida,  where  he  re 
mained  nearly  a  year.* 

On  his  return  to  South  Carolina,  Judge  Hayward  re 
sumed  his  seat  upon  the  bench,  and  was  actively  engaged 
in  his  judicial  duties  until  1798.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  convention  of  his  state,  which  framed  its  constitution, 
in  1790.  Having  again  married  an  amiable  lady,  by  the 
name  of  Savage,  he  coveted  the  retirement  and  happiness 
of  domestic  life,  from  which  he  had  been  so  long  an  ex 
ile,  and  in  1799,  he  withdrew  entirely  from  public  life, 
and  in  the  bosom  of  his  family  he  bore  the  honor,  which 
a  nation's  gratitude  conferred,  and  there  calmly  awaited 
the'summons  for  another  world.  His  death  took  place 
•in  March,  1809,  when  he  was  sixty-three  years  of  age. 

were  such,  that  he  might  have  lived  at  case  in  the  retiracy  of  private  life.  At  tho 
time  he  was  appointed  Judge,  the  enemy  %vere  in  force  at  Charleston  and  vicinity. 
But  this  had  no  effect  upon  him,  for  he  tried,  and  caused  to  be  executed,  virtually 
within  sight  of  the  British  lines,  several  persons  who  were  found  guilty  of  treason 
*  While  confined  prisoner  'there,  a  detachment  of  British  soldiers  were  sent  to 
his  plantation,  and  carried  off  all  his  slaves.  They  were  sent  to  Jamaica,  and 
sold  there  to  the  sugar  planters.  lie  recovered  some  of  them  afterward,  but 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty,  valued  at  fifty  thousand  dollars,  were  a  total  lo.ss 
In  addition  to  this  loss  of  property,  he  met  with  another,  in  the  meanwhile,  a  thou 
sand  times  more  afflictive  and  irreparable  —  that  of  the  affectionate  wife  of  his 
oosom. 


o^r  ^>x   ^^     &^r~/^ 


HOMAS  LYNCH,  JUNIOR,  was  born  in 
^Prince  George's  parish,  upon  the 
fNonh  Santee  river,  South  Carolina, 
on  the  fifth  day  of  August,  1749. 
He  was  a  descendant  of  an  ancient 
Austrian'  family,  natives  of  the  town 
of  Lintz.  A  branch  of  the  family 
moved  to  England,  and  settled  in  the  county  of  Kent. 
Thence  they  went  to  Connaught  in  Ireland,  and  it 
\vas  from  that  place  that  thr  great-grandfather  of 
our  subject  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in  South 
Carolina,  a  short  time  after  its  first  settlement  He  pur- 
"919 


220  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

chased  large  tracts  of  land,  and  when  they  fell  into  the 
possession  of  the  father  of  Thomas  Lynch,  junior,  they 
possessed  great  value,  and  gave  him  a  splendid  fortune. 
He  was  a  man  of  greai  influence,  and  having  early  es 
poused  the  cause  of  the  colonists,  he  was  elected  a  dele 
gate  to  the  first  Continental  Congress  which  met  in  Phil 
adelphia,  in  1774.  He  continued  a  member  of  that  body 
until  his  death. 

Thomas  Lynch,  junior,  was  sent  to  England,  to  be  edu 
cated,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years.  He  had  previously 
received  a  good  academical  education,  at  Georgetown,  in 
South  Carolina.  In  England  he  was  placed  in  Eton 
School,  that  seminary  of  preparation  for  higher  instruc 
tion,  in  which,  for  a  long  period,  many  eminent  men  were 
educated.  After  completing  his  preparatory  studies 
there,  he  entered  the  University  of  Cambridge,  where  he 
took  his  degree,  and  he  left  the  institution  bearing  the 
highest  respect  of  the  tutors,  because  of  his  studious  and 
virtuous  career  while  there. 

On  leaving  Cambridge,  young  Lynch  entered  upon  the 
study  of  the  law  in  one  of  the  inns  of  the  Temple,  where, 
by  close  application,  he  became  a  finished  lawyer  at 'the 
close  of  his  studies.  Pie  there  became  acquainted  with 
some  of  the  leading  politicians  of  the  day,  and  acquired  a 
pretty  thorough  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  the 
government.  And  when  he  heard  the  murmur  of  dis 
content  come  from  his  native  land,  and  listened  to  the 
haughty  tone  of  British  statesmen,  when  speaking  of  the 
colonies,  he  felt  an  irrepressible  desire  to  return  home. 
He  obtained  permission  of  his  father,  and  reached  South 
Carolina  in  1772.  He  soon  afterward  married  a  beauti 
ful  young  lady,  named  Shu  brick,  between  whom  and 
himself,  a  mutual  attachment  had  existed  from  childhood. 
This  tender  relation  and  the  possession  of  an  ample  for 
tune,  were  calculated  to  wed  him  to  4je  ease  and  enjoy 


THOMAS    LYNCH     JR.  22i 

ments  of  domestic  life,  but  young  Lynch  had  caught  the 
spirit  of  his  patriotic  father,  and  he  stood  up,  like  a  strong 
young  oak,  to  breast  the  storm  of  the  Revolution,  then 
gathering  black  on  every  side. 

Mr.  Lynch's  first  appearance  in  public  life,  was  at  a 
town  meeting  called  in  Charleston  in  1773,  to  consider  the 
injuries  Great  Britain  was  inflicting  on  her  colonies.  He 
addressed  the  numerous  assemblage  with  a  patriotic  elo 
quence  that  won  their  hearts,  and  the  people  at  once 
looked  upon  him  as  an  efficient  instrument  in  working  out 
the  freedom  of  his  country.  They  elected  him  by  acclama 
tion  to  many  civil  offices  of  trust,  and  when  the  first  provin 
cial  regiment  was  raised  in  South  Carolina,  in  1775,  a  cap 
tain's  commission  was  offered  to  Mr.  Lynch,  which  he  ac 
cepted.*  In  company  with  Captain,  afterward  General  C. 
C.  Pinckney,  he  made  a  recruiting  excursion  into  North 
Carolina,  to  raise  the  company  he  was  to  command.  In 
this  service  he  was  greatly  exposed  to  the  inclemencies 
of  the  weather,  and  his  health  received  a  shock  from 
which  it  never  recovered.  He  raised  his  company  and 
joined  his  regiment,  but  a  few  days  afterward,  intelligence 
reached  him  of  the  sudden  and  severe  illness  of  his  father 
from  paralysis,  at  Philadelphia,  and  he  asked  permission 
to  attend  him.  But  Colonel  Gadsden,  absolutely  refused 
to  grant  the  request,  on  the  ground  that  no  private  con 
sideration  should  interfere  with  public  duty.  But  his 
filial  yearnings  were  speedily  gratified,  for  his  father  re 
signed  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  his  son  was  immediately 
elected  by  the  Provincial  Assembly  to  fil  it.  He  joyfully 
accepted  it,  and  hastened  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  took 
his  seat  iri  Congress,  in  1776.  He  supported  the  propo- 

*  Tlis  father,  then  in  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  was  desirous  that  he  should  enter 
the  service  with  higher  rank  than  captain,  but  young  Lynch  expressed  his  opinion 
that  the  commission  was  quite  as  exalted  as  tis  experience  would  warrant  him  ta 
receive 


222  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

sition  for  Independence,  and  was  one  cr  the  signers  to  tha 
glorious  Declaration  thereof. 

Mr.  Lynch  did  not  long  remain  in  Congress,  for  the 
declining  health  of  both  himself  and  his  father  caused  him 
to  resign  his  seat  and  return  home.  They  travelled 
slowly  until  they  reached  Annapolis,  where  his  favher  had 
another  paralytic  stroke,  which  terminated  hi,s  life. 
With  a  sad  heart  and  debilitated  frame,  the  bereavec!  son 
returned  home.  But  the  canker  of  disease  was  preying 
upon  his  vitals,  and  by  the  advice  of  physicians,  he  re 
solved  to  go  to  the  south  of  Europe,  with  the  faint  hope, 
that  restored  health  might  be  the  result.  It  being  peril 
ous  at  that  time  to  go  in  an  American  vessel,  he  sailed 
for  the  West  Indies  toward  the  close  of  1779,  with  the 
expectation  of  finding  a  neutral  vessel  there,  in  which  to 
embark  for  Europe.  His  affectionate  wife  accompanied 
him,  but  they  never  reached  their  destination.  The  ves 
sel  was  supposed  to  have  foundered  at  sea,  and  all  on 
board  perished,  for  it  was  never  heard  of  afterward. 

Thus, at  the  early  age  of  thirty  years,  terminated  the 
life  of  one  of  that  sacred  band  who  pledged  life,  fortune 
and  honor,  in  defence  of  American  freedom.  Like  a 
brilliant  meteor,  he  besmed  with  spier  dor  for  a  short 
peiiod,  and  suddenly  va~  ished  forever 


RTHUR  MIDDLETON  was  born  at  Mid- 
dleton  Place,  the  residence  of  his  fa 
ther,  in  South  Carolina,  in  1743. 
His  father,  Henry  Middleton,  was  of 
English  descent,  and  a  wealthy  plan 
ter,  and  he  gave  his  son  every  oppor 
tunity  for  mental  and  moral  culture  which  the  Province 
afforded,  until  he  arrived  at  a  proper  age  to  be  sent  to 
England  for  a  thorough  education.  This,  *as  we  have 
before  observed,  was  a  prevailing  custom  among  the  men 

223 


>24  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

of  wealth  in  the  southern  provinces,  previous  to  the  Revo 
lution,  and  their  sons  consequently  became  political  and 
social  leaders,  on  account  of  their  superior  education. 

Arthur  Middleton  was  sent  to  England,  when  he  was 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  was  placed  in  a  school  at 
Hackney.*  At  fourteen  he  was  transferred  to  a  school 
in  Westminster,  where  he  remained  four  years,  and  then 
entered  the  University  at  Cambridge.  While  there,  he 
shunned  the  society  of  the  gay  and  dissipated,  and  became 
a  very  close  and  thoughtful  student.  He  remained  at 
Cambridge  four  years,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he 
graduated  with  distinguished  honors.  He  carried  with 
him,  from  that  institution,  the  sincere  respect  and  esteem 
of  professors  and  students. 

Young  Middleton  remained  in  England  some  time 
after  leaving  Cambridge,  for  the  twofold  purpose  of  self- 
improvement  and  of  forming  acquaintances  with  the 
branch  of  his  family  that  remained  there.  He  then 
went  to  the  continent,  and  for  two  years  he  travelled  and 
made  observations  of  men,  and  manners,  and  things,  in 
southern  Europe.  He  passed  several  months  at  Rome 
where  his  highly -cultivated  mind  became  thoroughly 
schooled  in  the  theory  of  the  fine  arts,  and  made  him 
ouite  proficient  as  a  painter. 

Mr.  Middleton  returned  to  South  Carolina,  in  17G8, 
and  very  soon  afterward  married  an  accomplished  young 
lady,  named  Izard.  About  a  year  after  this  event,  he 
Look  his  young  wife  and  made  a  second  tour  on  the  con 
tinent  of  Europe,  and  spent  some  time  in  England.  They 
returned  in  1773,  and,  by  the  indulgence  of  his  father, 
he  took  the  family  seat  for  his  residence.  There  in  the 
possession  of  wealth  and  every  domestic  enjoyment,  he 
had  a  bright  prospect  of  worldly  happiness.  But  even 

*  Several  of  the  Southern  members  of  Congress  received  their  education  at  thia 
school,  preparatory  to  their  entering  the  college  a  Cambridge. 


ARTHUR    MIDDLETON.  225 

then  the  dark  clouds  of  the  Revolution  were  gathering, 
and  in  less  than  two  years  the  storm  burst  upon  the 
South,  as  well  as  all  along  the  Atlantic  sea-board,  with 
great  fury.  Men  could  not  remain  neutral,  for  there  was 
no  middle  course,  and  Arthur  Middleton,  as  well  as  his 
father,  laid  their  lives  and  fortunes  upon  the  altar  of  pa 
triotism.  When  the  decision  was  made  and  the  die  was 
cast,  Mr.  Middleton  laid  aside  domestic  ease  and  entered 
at  once  upon  active  life.  He  was  a  member  of  one  of  the 
committees  of  safety  of  South  Carolina,  appointed  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  in  1775.  In  that  body  he  was  firm 
and  unyielding  in  principle,  and  when,  soon  afterward, 
Lord  William  Campbell  was  appointed  governor,  and  it 
was  discovered  that  he  was  acting  with  duplicity,  Mr.  Mid 
dleton  laid  aside  all  piivate  feeling,  and  recommended 
his  immediate  arrest.*  This  proposition  was  too  bold  to 
meet  the  views  of  the  more  timid  majority  of  the  com 
mittee,  and  the  governor  was  allowed  to  flee  from  the 
State  .t 

In  the  winter  of  1776,  Mr.  Middleton  was  one  of  a 
committee  appointed  to  form  a  government  for  South 
Carolina  ;  and  early  in  the  spring  of  that  year  he  was 
elected  by  the  Provincial  Legislature,  a  delegate  to  the 
General  Congress,  at  Philadelphia.  There  he  was  an  act 
ive  promoter  of  the  measures  tending  toward  a  sever 
ance  of  the  Colonies  from  Great  Britain,  and  voted  for 
and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  By  this  pa- 

*  Lord  William  Campbell  was  nearly  related  to  Mr.  Middleton's  wife,  and  the 
greatest  intimacy  existed  between  the  families.  But  private  feelings  and  close 
ties  of  relationship  had  no  weight  in  the  scale  against  Mr.  Middleton's  convictions 
of  duty,  and  he  was  among  the  first  to  recommend  meetings  to  destroy  the  power 
of  the  governor. 

t  Had  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Middleton  been  carried  into  effect,  much  blood 
shed  might  have  been  saved  in  South  Carolina,  for  Lord  Campbell,  after  his  flight 
joined  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  representing  the  tory  interest  as  very  powerful  in 
that  State,  induced  that  commander,  in  connection  with  the  fleet  of  Sir  Peter  Par 
ker,  to  ravage  the  coast  and  make  an  attack  upon  Charleston.  In  that  engage 
mfnt  Lord  Campbell  was  slain.  • 


226  SOUTH    CAROLINA. 

triotic  act,  he  placed  himself  in  a  position  to  lose  life  and 
property,  should  the  contest  prove  unsuccessful,  but  these 
considerations  had  no  weight  with  him. 

Mr.  Middleton  continued  a  member  of  Congress  until 
the  close  of  1777,  when  he  returned  to  South  Carolina. 
In  J778,  the  Assembly  adopted  a  State  Constitution,  and 
Arthur  Middleton  was  elected  first  governor  under  it. 
Doubting  the  legality  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly 
in  framing  the  constitution,  he  declined  the  acceptance  of 
the  appointment. 

When,  in  1779,  South  Carolina  was  invaded  by  the 
British,  Mr.  Middleton's  property  was  exposed  to  their 
ravages.  Yet  he  heeded  not  the  destruction  that  was 
wrought,  but  joining  Governor  Rutledge  in  his  attempts 
to  defend  the  State,  he  left  his  estate  entirely  unprotected 
and  only  wrote  to  his  wife  to  remove  with  the  family  a 
a  day's  journey  from  the  scene  of  strife.  In  this  invasion 
a  large  portion  of  his  immense  estate  was  sacrificed.  The 
following  year,  after  the  surrender  of  Charleston  to  the 
British,  he  was  one  of  the  many  influential  men  who  were 
taken  prisoners  and  sent  to  St.  Augustine  in  Florida. 
There  he  remained  about  one  year,  and  was  then  sent, 
as  an  exchanged  prisoner,  to  Philadelphia.  He  was  at 
once  elected  by  the  Assembly  of  South  Carolina,  a  rep 
resentative  in  Congress,  and  he  remained  there  until 
November,  1782,  when  he  returned  to  his  family. 

He  was  a  representative  in  his  State  Legislature  until 
near  the  close  of  1787,  when  disease  removed  him  from 
his  sphere  of  usefulness.  By  exposure  he  contracted  an 
intermittent  fever,  which  he  neglected  until  it  was  too  late 
to  check  its  ravages  upon  his  constitution.  He  died  on 
Jie  first  day  of  January,  1788.  He  left  his  wife  a  widow 
with  eight  children.  She  lived  until  1814,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  her  offspring  among  the  honored  of 
the  land. 


UTTON  GWINNETT  was  born  in  England, 
JI^T  in  1732.  The  pecuniary  means  of  his  pa 
rents  were  limited,  yet  they  managed  to 
give  him  a  good  common  education.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  a  merchant  in  Bristol, 


•nd  after  completing  his  term  of  service,  he  married,  and 
'.ommenced  business  on  his  own  account.  Allured  by 
"  the  promises  of  wealth  and  distinction  in  America,  he  re 
solved  to  emigrate  hither,  and  he  arrived  at  Charleston, 
\ii  South  Carolina,  in  the  year  1770.  There  he  com 
menced  mercantile  business,  and  after  pursuing  it  for  two 
years,  he  sold  out  his  stock,  moved  to  Georgia,  and  pur 
chased  large  tracts  of  land  on  St.  Catharine's  Island  in 
diat  province.  He  purchased  a  number  of  slaves,  and 
devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits. 

Mr.  Gwinnett  favored  the  opposition  of  the  Colonies  to 
British  oppression,  to  some  degree,  yet  he  was  one  of 
those  cautious,  doubting  men  at  that  time,  who  viewed 
the  success  of  the  colonies  in  an  open  rupture  with  the 
home  government,  as  highly  problematical.  Therefore, 
when,  in  1774,  Georgia  was  solicited  to  unite  her  voice 
with  the  other  colonies  in  a  General  Congress,  Mr.  Gwin 
nett  looked  upon  the  proposition  with  disfavor,  as  one 
fraught  with  danger  and  many  evils.  But  falling  in  with 
Doctor  Lyman  Hall,  and  a  few  other  decided  patriots, 
his  judgment  became  gradually  convinced  that  some  pow 
erful  movement  was  necessary,  and  at  length  he  came  out 
before  the  people,  as  one  of  the  warmest  advocates  of 
unbending  resistance  to  the  British  Crown.  His  culti 

227 


228  GEORGIA. 

vated  mind  and  superior  talents  rendered  him  very  popu 
lar  with  the  people  as  soon  as  he  espoused  their  cause, 
and  every  honor  in  their  gift  was  speedily  bestowed 
upon  him. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  1775,  that  Mr.  Gwinnetl  open 
ly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  patriots,  and  the  parish  of 
St.  John  elected  him  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Con 
gress.*  In  February,  1776,  he  was  again  elected  a  dele 
gate  to  that  body  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Georgia, 
and  under  their  instructions,  and  in  accordance  with  his 
own  strong  inclinations,  he  voted  for  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  signed  it  on  the  second  of  August  fol 
lowing.  He  remained  in  Congress  until  1777,  when  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  Convention  of  his  State  to 
form  a  Constitution,  in  accordance  with  the  recommenda 
tion  of  Congress  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  made,  and  the  grand  outlines  of  that  instrument  are 
attributed  to  Mr.  Gwinnett. 

Soon  after  the  State  Convention  adjourned,  Mr.  Bul 
lock,  the  president  of  the  council,  died,  and  Mr.  Gwinnett 
was  elected  to  that  station,  then  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  people.  The  civil  honors,  so  rapidly  and  lav 
ishly  bestowed  upon  him,  excited  his  ambition,  and  while 
he  was  a  representative  in  Congress,  he  aspired  to  the 
possession  of  military  honors  also.  He  offered  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Brigadier  General,  and  his 
competitor  was  Colonel  M'Intosh,  a  man  highly  esteemed 
for  his  manly  bearing  and  courageous  disposition.  Mr. 
Gwinnett  was  defeated,  and  with  mistaken  views  he  looked 

*  At  the  early  stage  of  the  controversy  with  Great  Britain,  Georgia,  sparsely 
populated,  seemed  quite  inactive,  except  in  the  district  known  as  the  parish  of 
St.  John.  There  all  the  patriotism  of  the  province  seemed  to  have  been  concen 
trated.  The  General  Assembly  having  refused  to  send  delegates  to  the  Congress 
of  1774,  that  parish  separated  from  the  province,  and  appointed  a  representative 
in  the  Continental  Congress.  The  leaven,  however,  soon  spread,  and 
gare  her  vote,  in  1776,  for  independence. 


BUTTON    GWINNETT.  229 

upon  his  rival  as  a  personal  enemy.*  A  decided  aliena 
tion  of  their  former  friendship  took  place,  and  the  breach 
was  constantly  widened  by  the  continued  irritations  which 
Mr.  Gwinnett  experienced  at  the  hands  of  Colonel  M'ln- 
tosh  and  his  friends.  At  length  he  was  so  excited  by  the 
conduct  of  his  opposers,  and  goaded  by  the  thoughts  of 
having  his  fair  fame  tarnished  in  the  eyes  of  the  commu 
nity,  from  whom  he  had  received  his  laurels,  that  he  lis 
tened  to  the  suggestions  of  false  honor,  and  challenged 
Colonel  M'Intosh  to  single  combat.  They  met  with  pis 
tols,  and  at  the  first  fire  both  were  wounded,  Mr.  Gwinnett 
mortally  ;  and  in  the  piime  of  life,  at  the  early  age  of  forty- 
five,  his  life  terminated.  He  could  well  have  said,  in  the 
language  of  the  lamented.  Hamilton,  when  fatally  wounded 
in  a  duel  by  Aaron  Burr:  "  I  have  lived  like  a  man,  but 
I  die  like  a  fool." 

Mr.  Gwinnett  left  a  wife  and  several  children,  but  they 
did  not  long  survive  him. 

*  As  we  have  elsewhere  remarked  in  the  course  of  these  memoirs,  native  born 
Englishmen  were  in  the  habit  of  regarding  the  colonists  as  inferior  to  themselves, 
and  they  were  apt  to  assume  a  bearing  toward  them  highly  offensive.  In  some 
degree  Mr.  Gwinnett  was  obnoxious  to  this  charge,  and  he  looked  upon  his  rapid 
elevation  in  public  life,  as  an  acknowledgment  of  his  superiority.  These  feel 
ings  were  too  thinly  covered  not  to  be  seen  by  the  people  when  he  was  president 
of  the  council,  and  it  soon  engendered  among  the  natives  a  jealousy  thtit  was 
fully  reciprocated  by  him.  This  was  doubtless  the  prime  cause  of  all  the  difficul 
ties  which  surrounded  him  toward  the  close  af  his  life,  and  brought  him  to  hia 
tragical  death. 


YMAN  HALL  was  born  in  Connecti 
cut  in  the  year  1721.  His  father 
was  possessed  of  a  competent  for 
tune,  and  he  gave  his  son  an  oppor 
tunity  for  acquiring  a  good  education. 
He  placed  him  in  Yale  College,  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years,  whence  he  graduated  after  four 
years'  study.  He  chose  the  practice  of  medicine  as  a 
profession,  and  he  entered  upon  the  necessary  studies 
with  great  ardor,  and  pursued  them  with  perseverance 

230 


LYMAN    HALL.  2'3 1 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Hall  had  completed  his  pi\  iessional 
studies,  and  was  admitted  to  practice,  with  the  title  of  M, 
D.,  he  married  and  emigrated  to  South  Carolina,  in  1752. 
He  first  settled  at  Dorchester,  but  during  the  year  he 
moved  to  Sunbury,  in  the  district  of  Medway  in  Georgia, 
whither  about  forty  New  England  families,  then  in  South 
Carolina,  accompanied  him.  He  was  very  successful  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  by  his  superior  intelli 
gence,  probity,  and  consistency  of  character,  he  won  the 
unbounded  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

Doctor  Hall  was  a  close  observer  of  the  "  signs  of  the 
times,"  and  he  was  among  the  earliest  of  the  southern 
patriots  who  lifted  up  their  voices  against  British  oppres 
sion  and  misrule.  The  community  in  which  he  lived  was 
strongly  imbued  with  the  same  feeling,  for  the  people 
brought  with  them  from  New  England  the  cherished 
principles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers — principles  that  would 
not  brook  attempts  to  enslave,  or  even  to  destroy  a  single 
prerogative  of  the  colonies.  The  older  settlers  of  Geor 
gia,  many  of  whom  were  direct  from  Europe,  had  these 
principles  of  freedom  inwoven  with  their  character  in  a 
much  less  degree,  and  therefore  the  parish  of  St.  John 
wherein  Doctor  Hall  resided,  seemed,  at  the  first  cry 
of  liberty,  to  have  all  the  patriotism  of  the  province  cen 
tred  there. 

Early  in  1774  Doctor  Hall  and  a  few  kindred  spirits, 
endeavored,  by  calling  public  meetings,  to  arouse  the  peo 
ple  of  the  province  to  make  common  cause  with  their 
orethren  of  the  North,  but  these  efforts  seemed  almost 
futile.  Finally,  a  general  meeting  of  all  favorable  to  re 
publicanism  was  called  at  Savannah,  in  July,  1774,  but 
the  measures  adopted  there,  were  temporising  and  non 
committal  in  a  great  degree,  and  Doctor  Hall  almost  des 
paired  of  success  in  persuading  Georgia  to  send  delegates 
n  the  General  Congress,  called  to  meet  at  Philadelphia 


232  KEOKGIA. 

in  September.*  He  returned  to  his  constituents  with  a 
heavy  heart,  and  his  report  filled  them  with  disgust  at  the 
pusillanimity  of  the  other  representatives  there.  Fired 
with  zeal  for  the  ca.ise,  and  deeply  sympathizing  with 
their  brother  patriots  of  New  England,  the  people  of  the 
parish  of  St.  John  resolved  to  act,  in  the  matter,  indepen 
dent  of  the  rest  of  the  colony,  and  in  March,  1775,  they 
elected  Doctor  Hall  a  delegate  to  the  General  Congress, 
and  he  appeared  there  with  his  credentials  on  the  thir 
teenth  of  May,  following.!  Notwithstanding  he  was  not 
an  accredited  delegate  of  a  colony,  Congress,  by  a  unani 
mous  vote,  admitted  him  to  a  seat.f 

During  the  summer,  Georgia  became  sufficiently 
aroused  to  come  out  as  a  colony  in  favor  of  the  republi 
can  cause,  and  at  a  convention  of  the  people  held  in  Sa 
vannah,  in  July,  five  delegates  to  Congress  were  elected, 
of  whom  Doctor  Hall  was  one.  He  presented  his  new 
credentials  in  May,  1776,  and  he  took  part  in  the  debates 
which  ensued  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Lee  for  Indepen 
dence.  Doctor  Hall  warmly  supported  it,  and  voted  for 
it  on  the  fourth  of  July.  He  signed  the  Declaration  on 
the  second  of  August,  and  soon  afterward  returned  home 
for  a  season. 

Doctor  Hall  was  a  member  of  Congress  nearly  all  the 
while  until  1780,  when  the  invasion  of  his  state,  by  the 

*  Another  convention  of  representatives  of  the  people  of  the  province  met  at 
Savannah,  about  six  months  after,  but  the  extent  of  their  proceedings  was  to 
petition  Great  Britain  to  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  colonies,  a  petition  which  the 
patriots  of  the  north  knew  to  be  as  powerless  to  stay  the  oppressions  of  the 
Crown,  as  a  barrier  of  down  against  a  tornado. 

t  The  people  of  the  parish  of  St.  John,  convinced  that  the  rest  of  the  province 
was  too  apathetic  to  act,  appealed  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  South  Carolina, 
to  allow  them  to  join  with  them  in  their  n  on -importation  agreements,  and  other 
commercial  regulations.  Owing  to  some  difference  of  opinion  they  were  n  )t  suc 
cessful  in  their  application.  They  therefore  united  among  themselves,  established 
a  non-importation  association,  and  proceeded  to  elect  a  delegate  to  Congress. 

\  As  they  sometimes  voted  by  colonies,  Congress  was  somewhat  embarrassed 
in  the  case  jf  Mr.  Hall,  but  his  own  wisdom  obviated  the  difficulty.  He  proposed 
to  lebatc,  and  ?Ist»n  to  others,  but  nc  t  to  vcte  when  Congress  voted  by  colonies. 


LYMAN    HALL.  233 

British,  called  him  home  to  look  after  the  safety  of  his 
family.  He  arrived  ?here  in  time  to  remove  them,  but 
was  obliged  to  leave  his  property  entirely  exposed  to  the 
fury  of  the  foe.  He  went  north,  arid  while  the  British 
had  possession  of  the  state,  and  revived  royal  authority  in 
government  there,  his  property  was  confiscated. 

He  returned  to  Georgia,  in  1782,  just  before  the  enemy 
evacuated  Savannah.*  The  next  year  he  was  elected 
governor  of  the  State.  He  held  the  office  one  term,  and 
then  retired  from  public  life,  and  sought  happiness  in  the 
domestic  circle.  But  that  was  soon  invaded  by  the  arch- 
destroyer.  His  only  son  was  cut  down  in  the  flower  of 
his  youth,  and  the  father  did  not  long  survive  him.  He 
died  in  the  year  1784,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age, 
greatly  beloved  and  widely  lamented.t 

*  After  the  capture  of  Cornwallis  and  hi3  army  at  Yorktown,in  1781,  the  war 
virtually  ceased.  Armies  were  still  on  duty,  and  arrangements  were  made  for 
regular  campaigns  the  ensuing  season  ;  but  unimportant  skirmishes  in  the  South- 
ern  States  made  up  the  bulk  of  actual  hostilities  from  that  time  until  the  procla 
mation  of  peace.  Georgia  was  the  only  rendezvous  of  the  remnant  of  the  British 
at  the  South,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1782.  In  June  of  that  year,  General 
Wayne  arrived  there  with  a  portion  of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  and  the  enemy  re 
treated  from  all  their  outposts  into  Savannah.  The  State  was  thus  evacuated,  and 
republican  authority  was  re-established.  Wayne  was  attacked  within  five  miles 
of  Savannah,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  by  a  party  of  British  and  Indians,  and 
in  that  skirmish  Colonel  John  Laurens  was  killed.  This  was  the  last  battle  of  tho 
Revolution.  Cessation  of  hostilities  was  proclaimed,  and  in  July  the  British  force 
evacuated  Savannah,  and  the  last  hostile  foot  left  the  soil  of  Georgia. 

f  During  the  present  session  (1848)  of  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  the  sum  of  fif- 
teen  hundred  dollars  was  appropriated  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  lead  monu 
ment  to  the  memory  of  Lyman  Hall,  and  George  Walton,  two  delegate*  from 
Georgia,  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Their  remains  are  to  be 
removed  to  Augusta,  where  the  monument  is  to  be  reared. 


EORGE  WALTON  was  descended  from 
parentage  quite  obscure,  and  the  glory 
^iat  halos  kig  name  derives  not  a  gleam 
from  ancestral  distinction  —  it  is  alibis 
,  own.  He  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Frederick,  in  Virginia,  in  the  year  1740. 
His  early  education  was  extremely  limi 
ted,  and  at  the  age  of  Fourteen  years  he  was  apprenticed 
to  a  carpenter.  He  was  possessed  of  an  inquiring  mind, 
and  an  ardent  thirst  for  knowledge,  but  his  master's  au 
thority  hung  like  a  mill-stonn  about  the  neck -of  his 

234 


GEORGE    WALTON.  235 

rations.  He  was  an  ignorant  man,  and  looked  upon  a 
studious  boy  as  an  idle  one,  considering  the  time  spent  in 
reading  as  wasted.  With  this  feeling,  he  would  allow 
young  Walton  no  time  to  read  by  day,  nor  lights  to  study 
by  night ;  but  the  ardent  youth  overcame  these  difficul 
ties,  and  by  using  torch-wood  for  light,  he  spent  his  even 
ings  in  study.  Persevering  in  this  course,  he  ended  his 
apprenticeship  with  a  well-stored  mind.  He  then  moved 
into  the  province  of  Georgia,  and  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Young,  an  eminent  barrister  in 
that  colony. 

Mr.  Walton  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  the  year 
1774,  a  time  when  the   colonies  were  in  a  blaze  respect 
ing  the  various  acts  of  the  British  Parliament  which  in 
vaded  colonial  rights.     But  Georgia  was  either  very  apa 
thetic  or  very  timid,  for  the  people,  although  induced  by 
active  patriots  to  meet  together  in  convention  at  Savan 
nah,  did  not  so  far  approve  of  the  call  for  a  General  Con 
gress,  as  to  appoint  delegates   thereto,  and  Georgia  was 
the  only  colony  unrepresented  there. 

Soon  after  commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Mr.  Walton  became  acquainted  with  some  of  the  leading 
patriots  in  that  province,  among  whom  was  Dr.  Hall ;  arid 
they  found  in  him  an  apt  pupil  in  the  school  of  patriotism 
His  law  tutor  was  an  ardent  patriot  also,  and  these  influ 
ences,  combined  with  his  own  natural  bias,  made  him  es 
pouse  the  republican  cause  with  hearty  zeal.  He  boldly 
opposed  the  movements  of  the  loyalists,  and  soon  called 
down  upon  his  head  the  denunciations  of  the  ruling  pow 
ers.  He  labored  assiduously  to  have  the  whole  province 
take -the  road  toward  freedom,  which  the  parish  of  St. 
John  had  chosen,  yet  his  labor  seemed  almost  fruitless. 
But  at  length  the  fruits  of  the  zeal  of  himself  and  others 
began  to  appear,  and  in  the  winter  of  1776,  the  Assem 
bly  of  Georgia  declared  for  the  patriot  cause,  and  in  Feb 


23(5  GEORGIA. 

ruary  appointed  five  delegates  to  the  Continental  Con 
gress.  Of  these  delegates,  Mr.  Walton  was  one. 

The  royal  governor  was  so  incensed  at  this  daring  and 
treasonable  act  of  the  Assembly  that  he  threatened  to  use 
military  force  against  them.  But  they  utterly  disregarded 
his  authority,  organized  a  new  government,  and  elected 
Archibald  Bullock  president  of  the  Executive  Council. 

The  Congress  was  in  session  at  Baltimore  when  he  ai- 
rived,  having  adjourned  there  from  Philadelphia  because 
of  the  expected  attack  upon  that  city  by  the  British  under 
Lord  Cornwallis.  The  confidence  which  that  body  re 
posed  in  him  was  manifested  three  days  after  his  arrival, 
by  his  appointment  upon  a  committee  with  Robert  Morris 
and  George  Clymer,  to  repair  to  Philadelphia  and  act  as 
circumstances  might  require.  This  was  a  post  of  great 
trust  and  danger,  and  the  powers  delegated  to  the  com 
mittee  were  almost  unlimited ;  in  their  keeping  and  dis 
position  nearly  the  whole  of  the  finances  of  Congress  were 
intrusted.  This  service  was  performed  with  the  utmost 
fidelity. 

Mr.  Walton  was  favorable  to  the  proposition  for  inde 
pendence,  and  he  used  all  his  influence  to  bring  about 
that  result.  He  voted  for  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence,  and  the  fortune  and  honor  he  there  pledged, 
were  freely  devoted  to  its  support.  He  remained  in  Con 
gress  until  near  the  close  of  1778,  when  he  returned  home, 
having  been  appointed  by  the  legislature  colonel  of  a  regi 
ment  in  his  State,  then  threatened  by  an  invasion  of  the 
enemy  from  the  sea.  Colonel  Walton  hastened  to  join 
his  regiment,  and  was  there  in  time  to  enter  the  battalion 
of  General  Howe,*  at  Savannah,  when  Colonel  Campbell, 

*  This  was  General  Robert  Howe,  of  the  American  army.  There  were  three 
commanding  officers  by  the  name  of  Howe  engaged  in  our  Revolutionary  war  ; 
General  Robert  Howe,  just  named ;  General  Sir  William  Howe,  of  the  Britisli 
army  ;  and  hia  brother,  Lord  Howe,  Admiral  in  its  navy.  At  the  time  in  question, 
General  Robert  Howe  had  about  eight  hundred  men  under  hia  command,  aa«l 


GEORGE    WALTON.  237 

from  New  York,  landed  there  and  besieged  it.  In  that 
engagement  he  received  a  severe  shot  wound  in  his  thigh, 
and  he  fell  from  his  horse.  In  this  condition  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  but  was  soon  afterward  exchanged.* 

In  October,  1779,  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  appointed 
Mr.  Walton  governor  of  the  State.  He  did  not  hold  that 
office  long,  for  in  January,  17SO,  he  was  again  elected  to 
a  seat  in  Congress  for  two  years,  but  in  October  following 
he  withdrew  from  that  body,  and  was  again  elected  gov 
ernor  of  his  State,  which  office  he  then  held  a  full  term. 
Near  the  close  of  the  term,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Legis 
lature,  Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  and  he  retained  that 
office  until  his  death.  In  1798,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he  remained 
one  year  and  then  retired  to  private  life,  except  so  far  as 
his  duties  upon  the  bench  require'd  him  to  act  in  public. 
His  useful  life  was  terminated  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  on  the 
second  day  of  Februaiy,  1804,  when  he  was  in  the  sixty- 
fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Walton  had  but  one  child,  a  son,  who  was  a  great 
solace  to  the  declining  years  of  his  father.t  Judge  Wal 
ton  was  universally  beloved  by  those  who  knew  him  inti 
mately,  and  the  carpenter's  apprentice  became  the  most 
exalted  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth  in  which  he  resided. 
Even  at  this  late  day,  the  remembrance  of  his  services  and 
exalted  character,  is  fresh  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

would  doubtless  have  maintained  a  successful  defence  of  Savannah,  had  it  not 
been  for  a  treacherous  negro,  who  pointed  out  to  the  enemy  a  path  across  a  mo 
rass  that  defended  the  Americans  in  the  rear.  By  this  treachery  the  Americana 
were  attaekad  front  and  rear,  and  were  obliged  to  surrender  themselves  prison 
ers  of  war. 

*  He  then  held  the  active  position  of  major,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  yet  being 
a  member  of  Congress  and  guilty  of  the  great  offence  of  having  signed  the  DecLv 
ration  of  Independence,  a  brigadier  general  was  demanded  in  exchange  for  him. 
He  was  finally  exchanged  for  a  naval  captain. 

t  When  General  Jackson  was  governor  of  West  Florida,  Judge  Walton's  so* 
field  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  estim* 
*:le  men  in  that  territory. 


LIVINGSTON 


was  not  one  of  those  who  signed  the 


Declaration  of  Independence,  yet  his 
name  should  ever  be  inseparably  con 
nected  with  theirs,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
committee  of  the  immortal  Congress 
of  177  G,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  momentous  task  of 
framing  that  revered  document.  With  such  considera 
tions,  we  have  deemed  it  our  duty  to  append  the  memoir 
of  that  great  man,  to  the  biographies  of  his  colleagues  in 

23S 


ROBERT    R.    LIVINGSTON.  239 

the  National  Council  whence  emanated  that  Declaratory 
Act  which  gave  birth  and  freedom  to  a  grbat  nation. 

Robert  R.  Livingston  was  of  noble  lineage  —  noble,  not 
only  by  royal  patent,  but  in  high  and  virtuous  deeds.* 
He  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1747, 
and  was  educated  at  King's  (now  Columbia)  College. 
He  graduated  with  honor  in  1764,  at  the  age  of  seven 
teen  years,  and  then  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law, 
in  New  York,  under  Mr.  Smith,  a  barrister  of  consider 
able  eminence  there,  and  subsequently  Chief  Justice  of 
Canada.  He  was  also  an  historian  of  New  York. 

Not  long  after  obtaining  his  license  as  attorney  and 
counsellor,  Mr.  Livingston  was  appointed  Recorder  of 
the  city  of  New  York.  At  that  time  (1771),  the  excite 
ment  in  the  colonies  against  the  home  government  waa 
strong  and  general,  and  he  warmly  espoused  the  patriot 
cause.  His  father  was  also  an  unswerving  patriot,  and 
because  of  adhesion  to  the  "  rebels  "  they  were  both  ejec 
ted  from  office. 

*  James  Livingston,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  appointed 
Regent  of  Scotland,  during  the  minority  of  James  I.  A  grand-daughter  of  this 
Livingston  married  Donald,  king  of  the  Hebrides.  Several  members  of  the  family 
hnd  distinct  titles;  one  was  Earl  of  Newburgh,  another  Earl  of  Linlithgow, 
another  Earl  of  Callander,  and  another  Earl  of  Livingstone.  The  latter  was  the 
common  ancestor  of  the  branch  of  the  family  that  emigrated  to  America.  He  was 
hereditary  governor  of  Linlithgow  Castle,  in  which  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  was  born, 
and  his  daughter  was  one  of  the  four  ladies  who  attended  Mary  to  France,  as  her 
compc\nions.  The  grandson  of  Lord  Livingston,  who  was  an  eminent  divine, 
emigrated  to  Rotterdam,  in  1663,  in  consequence  of  the  religious  persecuaons  in 
Scotland,  and  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  in  the  negotiations  for  that  peace, 
which  eventxiated  in  the  transfer  of  the  colony  of  New  York  from  the  states  ol 
Holland  to  England.  His  son  Robert  emigrated  to  America,  in  1678,  and  in  1C86 
he  obtained  a  patent  for  the  Manor  of  Livingston,  upon  the  Hudson  river,  in  Co 
lumbia  County,  New  York.  He  was  afterward  chiefly  instrumental,  in  a  confer 
ence  with  King  William  and  others,  in  causing  the  expedition  which  was  fitted 
out  against  the  pirates  that  infested  the  American  coast.  Captain  Kidd  was 
appointed  the  agent  in  the  enterprise,  but  through  the  connivance  as  is  supposed, 
of  Governor  Fletcher,  of  New  York,  he  became  a  greater  pirate  himself  than  th  oie 
he  came  to  subdue.  Robert  R.  Livingston,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  wig  th« 
(Teat-grandson  of  Robert,  ^he  first  proprietor  of  the  Livingston  maiior. 


240  NEW    YORK. 

In  1775,  Mr.  Livingston  was  elected  a  member  of  *he 
Continental  Congress,  assembled  in  Philadelphia,  where 
his  activity  and  zeal  were  such  that  he  was  re-elected  for 
1778.*  He  took  part  in  the  debates  which  occurred  on 
the  motion  of  Richard  Hjity  Lee,  of  Virginia,  declaring 
th«  United  Colonies  free  and  independent ;  and  he  was 
placed  upon  the  committee,  which  Congress  appointed  to 
draw  up  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  conformity 
with  the  spirit  of  the  revolution,  and  was  present  when 
it  was  adopted. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Livingston  was  not  affixed  to  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  but  in  regard  to  the  rea 
sons  why  his  signature  was  withheld,  his  biographers  are 
silent.  We  venture  the  opinion  that  he  regarded  as  cor 
rect  the  doctrine  that  the  representative  is  bound  to  act 
in  accordance  with  the  expressed  will  of  his  constituents. 
At  the  time  the  Declaration  was  acted  upon  and  adopted, 
the  Provincial  Assembly  of  New  York  still  withheld  all 
sanction  of  so  strong  a  measure,  and  hence  it  is  probable 
that  Mr.  Livingston  did  not  think  proper  to  take  the  re 
sponsibility  of  concurring  in  such  an  important  measure, 
without  the  sanction  of  his  constituents.  That  sanction, 
however,  was  given  on  the  twelfth  of  July  by  a  vote  of  the 
Assembly  then  in  session  at  White  Plains,  in  which  they 
approved  of  the  action  of  Philip  Livingston  and  others 
who  were  afterward  signers.  The  question  does  not  in 
the  least  affect  the  character  of  Mr.  Livingston,  for  his 
patriotism  was  undoubted,  and  his  subsequent  career 
attests  the  firm  confidence  of  his  countrymen. 

When,  after  the  Declaration  was  adopted,  Congress  re- 

*  General  Richard  Montgomery  married  a  sister  of  Mr.  Livingston,  and,  toward 
the  close  of  1775,  he  commanded  an  expedition  against  Quebec.  In  endeavoring 
to  scale  the  heights  of  Abraham  near  that  city,  he  was  mortally  wounded  bv  a 
cannon  shot.  His  remains  were  taken  to  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1818,  and  de  • 
posited  beneath  a  monument  placed  under  the  portico  c  f  St.  Paul's  Church,  in 
that  city. 


ROBERT  R.  LIVINGSTON.  241 

commended  the  several  states  to  form  constitutions  for 
their  governments  respectively,  Mr.  Livingston  was  elect 
ed  a  member  of  the  convention  of  New  York,  assembled 
for  that  purpose.  He  served  alternately  in  Congress 
and  in  the  legislature  of  his  native  state  from  1775  till 
1781,  when,  under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  he  was 
appointed  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  which  station  he 
tilled,  with  great  industry  and  fidelity,  until  1783.  On 
retiring  from  the  office  he  received  the  thanks  of  Con 
gress.  He  was  that  year  appointed  Chancellor  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  was  the  first  who  held  the 
office  under  the  new  constitution  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Livingston  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of 
New  York  which  assembled  at  Poughkeepsie,  in  1788,  to 
take  into  consideration  the  newly  formed  Federal  Consti 
tution,  and  he  was  then  one  of  its  warmest  advocates  in 
procuring  its  ratification  by  that  body. 

In  April,  1789,  Washington,  the  first  President  of  the 
United.  States,  was  inaugurated  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  august  occasions  the  world  has 
ever  witnessed,  and  Chancellor  Livingston  had  the  ex 
alted  honor  of  administering  the  oath  of  office  to  that 
great  leader,  and  of  witnessing  before  high  heaven  his 
solemn  pledge  to  support  the  constitution. 

In  1801,  Chancellor  Livingston  was  appointed  by 
President  Jefferson,  minister  to  the  court  of  France,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  then  the  young  conqueror  of  Italy, 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  First  Consul  of  the  French  Repub 
lic.  He  at  once  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  that 
great  captain,  and  successfully  negotiated  with  his  minis 
ters  for  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  then  in  possession  of 
France. 

The  treaty  was  signed  in  April,  1802,  by  Mr.  Living 
ston  and  Mr.  Monroe,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  by  the  Count  de  Marbois  in  behalf  of  France. 
11 


2-12  NKW    YOHK. 

When  it  was  signed,  Mr.  Livingston  arose  rrom  his  seat 
and  with  solemn  and  prophetic  voice  said,  "We  have 
lived  long,  but  this  is  the  noblest  work  of  our  whole  lives. 
The  treaty  which  we  have  just  signed  has  not  been  ob 
tained  by  art  or  dictated  by  force  ;  equally  advantageous 
to  both  contracting  parties,  it  will  change  vast  solitudes 
into  flourishing  districts.  From  this  day  the  United 
States  take  their  place  among  the  powers  of  the  first 
rank ;  the  English  lose  all  exclusive  influence  in  the  af 
fairs  of  America."  Napoleon,  too,  spoke  prophetically. 
"This  accession  of  territory,"  said  he,  "strengthens  for 
ever  the  power  of  the  United  States;  and  I  have  given  to 
England  a  maritime  rival,  that  will  sooner  or  later  hum 
ble  her  pride." 

While  in  Europe,  Chancellor  Livingston  indulged  and 
cultivated  his  taste  for  literature  and  the  Fine  Arts ; 
and  he  sent  to  the  American  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  which 
was  established  in  New  York,  in  1801,  a  very  fine  col 
lection  of  antique  busts  and  statues  (now  in  possession  of 
its  rival  and  successor,  the  National  Academy  of  Design) 
and  some  admirable  paintings.  Science,  too,  claimed  his 
attention,  and  the  aid  and  encouragement  which  he  ren 
dered  Robert  Fulton  in  his  steamboat  experiments,  by 
which  they  were  made  successful,  form  an  imperishable 
monument  of  honor  to  his  memory.*  Agriculture  was  his 

*  Chancellor  Livingston  was  the  only  man  of  influence  who  seemed  to  appre 
ciate  the  character  of  Fulton's  genius,  and  sympathize  with  him  in  his  efforts  to 
render  steam  subservient  to  purposes  of  navigation.  lie  warmly  entered  into  a!5 
his  plans,  fully  comprehended  his  theories,  and  was  convinced  at  the  outset  of 
the  practicability  of  the  project  lie  had  himself  made  many  advances  in  the  sama 
road  with  Mr.  Fulton,  before  he  became  acquainted  with  him.  He  applied  to  the 
Legislature  of  New  York,  in  1798,  for  a  special  act,  giving  him  the  exclusive  right 
to  navigate  the  waters  of  the  Hudson  river  with  boats  "propelled  by  fire  or  steam" 
for  twenty  years.  Dr.  Samuel  Mitchell,  then  in  the  House  of  Assemblj  introduced 
a  bill  accordingly,  and  it  brought  down  upon  him  an  avalanche  of  ridicule  ;  and 
the  debates  which  arose  upon  it  were  nmusing  in  the  extreme.  It  is  said  that 
when  any  of  the  younger  members  wished  to  indulge  in  a  little  fun.  they  would 
call  up  Dr.  Mitchell's  "hot  water  bill,"  and  bandy  their  jokes  withou  stint.  Many 


ROBERT    R.  LIVINGSTON.  24<i 

study  and  delight,  and  to  him  the  farmers  of  this  country 
are  indebted  for  the  introduction  of  gypsum  or  plaster, 
for  manure,  and  the  clover  grass. 

Chancellor  Livingston  continued  -actively  engaged  in 
public  life  until  a  year  or  so  before  his  death,  which  oc 
curred  at  his  country-seat  at  Clermont,  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  day  of  February,  1813,  when  he  was  in  the  sixty- 
sixth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a  prominent  actor  in  scenes 
which  present  features  of  the  most  remarkable  kind,  as 
influencing  the  destinies  of  the  world.  His  pen,  like  his 
oratory,  was  chaste  and  classical ;  and  the  latter,  because 
of  its  purity  arid  ease,  obtained  for  him  from  the  lips  of 
Doctor  Franklin,  the  title  of  the  "  Cicero  of  America." 
And  to  all  of  his  eminent  virtues  and  attainments  he  added 
that  of  a  sincere  and  devoted  Christian,  the  crowning  at 
tribute  in  the  character  of  a  good  and  great  man. 

of  the  older  members  declared  that  the  project  of  propelling  vessels  by  steam 
was  too  preposterous  to  be  seriously  thought  of,  and  was  unworthy  of  being  digni 
fied  by  legislative  action.  But  an  act  granting  the  privilege  was  finally  passed  ;  yet 
the  experiments  of  Mr.  Livingston  were  not  sufficiently  successful  to  warrant  him 
to  build  a  boat  of  any  considerable  size.  For  a  while  he  abandoned  the,  scheme, 
and  it  was  not  until  after  his  return  from  Frac  'e,  whither  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  him 
as  minister,  that  he  resumed  his  experiments.  H  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Ful 
ton  in  Paris,  and  on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  they  united  their  interests  and 
their  talents,  and  produced  a  boat,  in  1807,  which  was  propelled  by  steam  from 
New  York  to  Albany,  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour. 

The  first  trip  which  this  boat  made  was  one  of  intense  interest  to  Fulton  and  hi« 
warm-hearted  colleague,  Chancellor  Livingston.  A  few  doubting  friends  ven 
tured  on  board,  and  when  the  boat  left  the  wharf,  they  almost  wished  themselves 
again  on  shore,  for  they  felt  the  jeers  of  the  crowd  that  huzzaed  for '-Fulton's  folly" 
as  the  vessel  moved  out  into  the  stream.  On  she  went  some  distance  up  the 
river  and  stopped  !  'Just  as  I  expected,'  was  the  feeling  of  all,  and  the  expression 
of  many.  But  Fulton's  confidence  was  not  shaken;  he  discovered  the  cause  and 
the  boat  moved  on.  They  reached  the  Taappan  Sea,  glided  through  Haver- 
straw  Bay,  and  at  length  entered  the  great  amphitheatre  of  the  Highlands  at 
Caldwell's.  Onward  mov^d  the  mysterious  vessel.  West  Point  was  passed,  mag 
nificent  Newburgh  Bay  vas  entered,  the  green  fields  of  Dutchess  and  Columbia, 
and  the  towering  peaks  of  the  Catskills  were  passed,  and  Albany  was  reached. 
The  victory  was  complete — Science  vindicated  tin?  claims  of  Genius,  and  a  new 
creation  of  the  western  world  began.  Now  the  fruits  of  that  victor-  are  seen 
world  wide,  and  the  achievements  of  Fulton  and  Livingston  on  that  day  ar« 
now  honored  as  having  given  an  alirngt  omnipotent  sceptre  to  civili/ufioD. 


THK 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE, 

HISTORICALLY   CONSIDERED. 


AN  aspiration  for  political  independence  was  not  a  pre« 
vailing  sentiment  among  the  people  of  the  Anglo-American 
colonies,  until  about  the  commencement  of  the  year  1776. 
It  had  indeed  been  a  favorite  idea  with  a  very  few  of  the 
early  leaders  in  the  political  movements  antecedent  to,  and 
productive  of,  the  War  of  the  Revolution ;  yet  manifest 
expediency,  arid  a  lingering  hope  of  obtaining  justice  from 
the  mother  country,  and  through  it  reconciliation,  caused 
them  to  confine  the  audible  expression  of  this  sentiment 
to  the  private  cin  le  of  tried  friendship.  Samuel  Adams, 
Richard  Henry  Lee,  Patrick  Henry,  Timothy  Dwight,* 
and  a  few  others  had  im  eed  breathed  the  subject  in  the 
ears  of  their  countrymen,  but  the  idea  met  with  little  fa 
vor,  even  among  the  most  ardent  patriots. 

*  "  In  the  month  of  July,  1775,"  says  Timothy  Dwight,  "  I  urged,  in  conversa 
tion,  with  several  gentlemen  of  great  respectability,  firm  whigs,  and  my  intimate 
friends,  the  importance  and  even  the  necessity  of  a  declaration  of  independence 
on  the  part  of  the  colonies,  ami  alleged  for  this  measure,  tl  i  very  same  arguments 
which  afterward  were  generally  considered  aa  decisiv  ;  but  found  them  dis 
posed  to  give  roe  and  my  arguments,  a  hostile  and  contemptuous,  instead  of  a 
cordial  reception.  Yet,  at  his  time,  all  the  resentment  and  enthusiasm  awakened 
by  the  odious  measures  of  Parliament,  by  the  peculiarly  obnoxious  conduct  ot 
the  British  agents  in  this  country,  and  by  the  recent  battles  of  Lexington  and 
Breed's  Hill,  were  at  the  highest  pitch.  These  gentlemen  may  be  considered  aa 
representatives  of  the  great  body  of  the  thinking  men  in  this  country.  A  few 
may,  perhaps,  be  excepted,  but  none  of  these  durst  at  that  time  openly  declare 
their  opinions  to  the  public.  For  myself,  I  regarded  the  die  as  cast,  and  the  hopes 
of  re<  onciliation  as  vanished  ;  and  believed  that  the  colonists  would  never  be 
able  to  defend  themselves  unless  they  renounced  their  dependence  on  Great 
Britain." — Dwighfs  Travels  in  New  England,  vol.  i.,  p.  159. 

C44 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  245 

There  were  some  who,  from  the  first,  seemed  to  have 
a  presentiment  that  reconciliation  was  out  of  the  question. 
Among  these  was  Patrick  Henry.  As  early  as  1773, 
he  uttered  the  following  prediction.  Speaking  of  Great 
Britain,  he  said,  "  She  will  drive  us  to  extremities  ;  no 
accommodation  will  take  place;  hostilities  will  soon  com 
mence  ;  and  a  desperate  and  bloody  touch  it  will  oe." 
This,  Mr.  Wirt  asserts,  was  said  in  the  presence  of  Colo 
nel  Samuel  Overton,  who  at  once  asked  Mr.  Henry  if  he 
thought  the  Colonies  sufficiently  strong  to  oppose  success 
fully,  the  fleets  and  armies  of  Great  Britain  1  "1 4\vill  be 
candid  with  you,"  replied  Mr.  Henry,  "  I  doubt  whether 
we  sliall  be  able,  alone,  to  cope  with  so  powerful  a  nation  ; 
but,"  continued  he,  rising  from  his  chair  with  great  anima 
tion,  "  where  is  France  !  — where  is  Spain  !  —  where  is 
Holland  —  the  natural  enemies  of  Great  Britain  1  Where 
will  they  be  all  this  while  ?  Do  you  suppose  they  will 
stand  by,  idle  and  indifferent  spectators  to  the  contest] 
Will  Louis  XVI.  be  asleep  all  this  time  1  Believe  me, 
no  !  When  Louis  XVI.  shall  be  satisfied  by  our  serious 
opposition,  and  our  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  all 
prospect  of  a  reconciliation  is  gone,  then,  and  not  till  then, 
will  he  furnish  us  with  arms,  ammunition  and  clothing  ; 
and  not  with  them  only,  but  he  will  send  his  fleets  and  ar 
mies  to  fight  our  battles  for  us  ;  he  will  form  a  treaty  with 
us,  offensive  and  defensive,  against  our  unnatural  mother. 
Spain  and  Holland  will  join  the  confederation  !  Our  inde 
pendence  will  be  established  !  and  we  shall  take  our  stand 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth!"  How  literally  these 
predictions  were  soon  fulfilled,  the  pen  of  Histoiy  has 
already  recorded. 

But  the  pride  of  political  birth-right,  as  a  child  of  Great 
Britain,  kept  actively  alive  a  loyal  spirit ;  and  a  separation 
from  the  British  empire  was  a  proposition  too  startling 
to  be  readily  embrared,  or  even  favorably  received,  by 


246  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

the  great  mass  of  the  people,  who  regarded  "  Old  England" 
with  filial  reverence.  Great  Britain,  the  revered  parent 
and  America,  the  dutiful  child,  had  long  been  bound  to 
gether  by  interest,  by  sameness  of  habits,  manners,  reli 
gion,  laws  and  government.  The  recollection  of  their 
original  consanguinity  had  always  been  cherished  with  an 
amiable  sensibility,  or  a  kind  of  mechanic  enthusiasm  that 
promoted  mutual  felicity  when  they  met  on  each  other's 
shores,  or  in  distant  lands  saluted  each  other  with  the  same 
language.  * 

When  intelligence  reached  America  that  the  King  had 
declared  the  colonists  rebels — that  thousands  of  German 
troops  had  been  engaged  by  Parliament  to  come  hither 
to  assist  in  the  work  of  subjugating  a  people  struggling 
for  right  and  justice — and  that  the  British  government 
was  collecting  all  its  mighty  energies,  for  the  purpose  of 
striking  a  blow  of  such  intensity  as  to  scatter  into  frag 
ments  every  vestige  of  the  rightful  claims  of  the  colonists, 
to  enjoy  the  prerogatives  granted  to  them  by  Magna  Char- 
ta,  a  deep  and  solemn  conviction  seized  the  minds  of  the 
people,  that  the  last  ray  of  hope  of  reconciliation  had  fa 
ded  away,  and  that  unbending  resistance  or  absolute  sla 
very  was  the  only  alternative  left  them.  The  bonds  of 
filial  affection  were  rudely  severed  by  the  unnatural  parent, 
and  the  deserted  and  outlawed  children  were  driven  by 
necessity  to  seek  shelter  beneath  a  palladium  of  their  own 
construction. 

During  the  winter  of  1776,  the  ablest  persons  in  Ameri 
ca  were  busy  in  the  preparation  of  pamphlets  and  essays 
for  gazettes,  all  filled  with  arguments  to  prove  the  neces 
sity  of  a  close  union  of  the  colonies  to  meet  the  threat 
ened  blow,  and  the  paramount  necessity  of  making  the 
rallying  cry  "  Independence  or  Slavery." 

*  Mrs.  Warren's  "  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  American  Revolution." — vol.  .i  p 
303. 


HISTORIC  ALL  V     C  ).\ IK  U;K  I1FJ).  247 

Among  the  former,  one  entitled  Common  Sense,  v\  ritten 
by  Thomas  Paine,  produced  a  powerful  effect  upon  the 
people,  and  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  thousands  a  long 
ing  far  independence,  where,  before,  loyalty  to  the  British 
crown  was  a  cherished  principle.  In  all  the  colonies, 
men  of  the  highest  rank  and  influence  boldly  avowed 
their  sentiments  in  favor  of  independence.  Nor  was  the 
pen  alone  the  asseiter  and  vindicator  of  this  sentiment, 
but  in  various  ways,  distinguished  men  presented  the  sub 
ject  in  all  its  bearings  before  the  people.  The  course  of 
William  Henry  Drayton,  Chief  Justice  of  South  Carolina, 
may  be  cited  as  one  of  many  ways  in  which,  not  only  per 
sonal  influence,  but  official  station,  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people,  in  favor  of  inde 
pendence.  In  his  charge  to  the  grand  jurors,  in  April,  1776, 
he  proceeded  to  vindicate  the  course  that  had  been  pursued 
by  the  colonies  in  forming  new  governments,  and  then 
addsd,  "  I  think  it  my  duty  to  declare,  in  the  awful  seat 
of  justice,  and  before  Almighty  God,  that  in  my  opinion, 
the  Americans  can  have  no  safety,  but  by  divine  favor, 
their  own  virtues,  and  their  being  so  prudent,  as  not  to 
leave  it  in  the  power  of  British  rulers  to  injure  them.  In 
deed,  the  ruinous  and  deadly  injuries  received  on  our  side, 
and  the  jealousies  entertained,  and  which  in  the  nature  of 
things  must  daily  increase  against  us,  on  the  other,  demon 
strate  to  a  mind  the  least  given  to  reflection,  that  true  recon 
cilement  can  never  exist  between  Great  Britain  and  America 

the  latter  being  subject  to  the  former The  Almighty 

created  America  to  be  independent  of  Great  Britain  :  let 
us  beware  of  the  impiety  of  being  backward  to  act  as  in 
struments  in  the  Almighty  hand,  now  extended  to  accom 
plish  his  purpose,  and  by  the  completion  of  which,  alone, 
America,  in  the  nature  of  human  affairs,  can  be  secure 
against  the  crafty  and  insidious  designs  of  her  enemies, 
who  think  her  favor  and  prosperity  already  by  far  too 


248       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

great.  In  a  word,  our  piety  and  political  safety  are  so 
blended,  that  to  refuse  our  labor  in  this  divine  work,  is  to 
"refuse  to  be  a  great,  a  free,  a  pious  and  a  happy  people."* 

When  the  minds  of  the  people  seemed  to  be  sufficiently 
prepared  to  receive  the  novel  idea  of  independence  of  the 
British  Crown,  the  colonial  assemblies  began  to  move  in 
the  matter.  North  Carolina  was  the  first  to  take  the  bold, 
progressive  step.  On  the  twenty-second  of  April,  1776, 
the  convention  of  North  Carolina  empowered  their  dele 
gates  in  the  General  Congress  "  to  concur  with  those  in 
the  other  colonies  in  declaring  independence." 

On  the  tenth  of  May,  the  general  assembly  of  Massa 
chusetts  requested  the  people  of  that  colony,  at  the  then 
approaching  election  of  new  representatives,  to  give 
them  instructions  on  the  subject  of  independence.!  On 
the  twenty-third  of  May,  the  people  of  Boston,  pursuant 
to  this  request,  instructed  their  representatives  to  use 
their  best  endeavors  to  have  their  delegates  in  Congress 
"  advised,  that  in  case  Congress  should  think  it  necessary, 
for  the  safety  of  the  united  colonies,  to  declare  them 
selves  independent  of  Great  Britain,  the  inhabitants  of 
that  colony,  with  their  lives,  and  the  remnants  of  their 
fortunes,  would  most  cheerfully  support  them  in  the 
measure." 

On  the  seventeenth  of  May,  the  convention  of  Vir 
ginia  unanimously  resolved,  "that  the  delegates  appointed 
to  represent  this  colony  in  the  General  Congress,  be  in 
structed  to  propose  to  that  respectable  body  to  declare 
the  united  colonies  free  and  independent  states,  absolved 

*  In  the  charge,  from  which  we  make  this  extract,  Chief  Justice  Drayton  ably 
descanted  upon  the  various  oppressive  acts  of  the  British  Government,  and  drew 
admirable  parallels  between  the  causes  which  led  to  the  revolution  in  England 
in  1688,  and  those  which  caused  the  revolution  in  America  then  in  progress.  He 
placed  James  II.  on  one  side,  and  George  III.  on  the  other,  and  showed  clear!/ 
that  the  acts  of  the  latter  were  more  criminal  than  those  of  the  former. 

I  Bradford,  vol.  ii.,  p.  1(M 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  240 

from  all  allegiance  to,  or  dependence  upon,  the  Crown  or 
Parliament  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  to  support  whatever 
measures  may  be  thought  proper  and  necessary  by  the 
Congress  for  forming  foreign  alliances,  and  a  confedera 
tion  of  the  colonies,  at  such  time,  and  in  such  manner,  as 
to  them  may  seem  best — provided,  that  the  power  of 
forming  governments  for,  and  the  regulation  of  the  inter 
nal  concern  of  each  colony,  be  left  to  the  respective  co 
lonial  legislatures."* 

The  assembly  of  Rhode  Island,  during  its  session  in 
May,  directed  the  oath  of  allegiance,  thereafter,  ^o  be 
taken  to  the  colony,  instead  of  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain.  They  also  instructed  their  delegates  to  join  with 
the  other  colonies  "  upon  the  most  proper  measures  for 
promoting  and  confirming  the  strictest  union  and  con 
federation,  between  the  colonies,  for  exerting  their  whole 
strength  and  force  to  annoy  the  common  enemy,  and  to 
secure  to  the  said  colonies  their  rights  and  liberties,  both 
civil  and  religious  ;  whether  by  entering  into  treaties  with 
any  prince,  state,  or  potentate ;  or  by  such  other  prudent 
and  effectual  ways  and  means  as  should  be  devised  and 
agreed  upon  ;  and  in  conjunction  with  the  delegates  from 
the  united  colonies,  to  enter  upon,  and  attempt,  all  such 
measures,  taking  the  greatest  care  to  secure  to  this  colo 
ny,  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  its  present  forms,  and  all 
the  power  of  government,  so  far  as  relates  to  its  internal 
police,  and  conduct  of  affairs,  civil  and  religious."  t 

On  the  eighth  of  June,  the  delegates  from  New  York 
wrote  to  the  convention  of  that  colony,  asking  their  advice 
on  the  question  of  independence,  then  agitated  in  Con 
gress.  The  convention  did  not  feel  themselves  authorized 


*  After  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  the  convention  proceeded  to  the  establish 
ment  of  a  regular  independent  government,  a  course  which  Congress  ehortlj 
afterward  recommended  to  all  the  states. 
•  Records  of  the  assembly  of  Rhode  Island. 
11* 


550       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

to  advise  their  delegates  to  declare  that  colony  inde 
pendent,  but  recommended,  by  resolution,  that  the  peo 
ple,  who  were  about  to  elect  new  representatives,  should 
give  instructions  on  the  subject.* 

On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  a  special  assembly  was 
called  in  Connecticut,  and  a  resolution  was  adopted,  by 
a  unanimous  vote,  instructing  the  delegates  of  that  colony, 
in  the  General  Congress,  to  "  give  their  assent  to  a  de 
claration  of  independence,  and  to  unite  in  measures  for 
forming  foreign  alliances,  and  promoting  a  plan  of  union 
among  the  colonies. "f 

On  the  fifteenth  of  June,  the  representatives  of  New 
Hampshire  unanimously  instructed  their  delegates  to  join 
the  other  colonies  in  this  question.^ 

On  the  twenty-first  of -the  same  month,  new  delegates 
to  the  Continental  Congress  were  elected  by  the  conven 
tion  of  New  Jersey,  and  they  were  instructed,  "  in  case 
they  judged  it  necessary  and  expedient  for  supporting 
the  just  rights  of  America,  to  join  in  declaring  the  united 
colonies  independent,  and  entering  into  a  confederation 
for  union  and  defence." 

The  assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  held  in  June,  removed 
the  restrictions  laid  upon  their  delegates  by  instructions 
in  November  preceding ;  but  they  neither  instructed 
them,  nor  gave  them  leave,  to  concur  with  the  other  colo 
nies  in  a  declaration  of  independence.  The  convention 
of  Maryland  positively  forbade,  by  a  resolution  passed 
about  the  last  of  May,  their  delegates  voting  for  inde 
pendence.  Georgia  and  Delaware  left  their  representa 
tives  free  to  act  without  any  instructions  or  restrictions, 

*  Records  of  the  convention  of  New  York. 

t  The  convention  of  that  special  session  issued  a  proclamation,  in  which  it  was 
recommended  "to  all  persons  of  every  rank  and  denomination  to  furnish  theur 
selves,  with  all  possible  expedition,  with  good  sufficient  fire-arms,  and  other  wa? 
Mke  accoutrements." 

tPitkin,vol.i.,p.36J. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSILERED.  251 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  General  Congress  was  busy  in 
preparing  the  way  for  a  declaration  of  absolute  inde 
pendence  of  the  British  Crown.  On  the  tenth  of  May, 
1776,  that  body  adopted  a  resolution  recommending  to 
the  assemblies  and  colonies,  where  no  sufficient  govern 
ment  had  been  established,  "  to  adopt  such  government 
as  should,  in  the  opinion  of  the  representatives  of  the  peo 
ple,  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  con 
stituents  in  particular,  and  America  in  general."  In  the 
preamble  to  this  resolution,  Congress  declared  it  to  be 
"  irreconcilable  to  reason  and  good  conscience  for  the 
colonists  to  take  the  oaths  required  for  the  support  of  the 
government  under  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain."  They 
also  declared  it  necessary  that  all  royal  power  should  be 
suppressed,  and  "  all  the  powers  of  government  exerted 
under  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  colonies,  for  the 
preservation  of  internal  peace,  virtue,  and  good  order,  as 
well  as  for  the  defence  of  their  lives,  liberties,  and  pro 
perties,  against  the  hostile  invasions  and  cruel  depreda.- 
tions  of  their  enemies."  This  was  a  bold  and  vigorous 
stride  toward  a  declaration  of  independence. 

While  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Congress  were 
yearning,  with  anxious  and  irrepressible  zeal,  for  the  con 
summation  of  an  event  which  they  felt  must  inevitably 
occur — and  all  eyes  were  turned  with  earnest  gaze  upon 
that  august  assembly  as  the  organ  that  should  proclaim 
"  liberty  to  the  land,  and  to  the  inhabitants  thereof," 
there  seemed  to  be  no  one  courageous  enough  to  step 
forth  and  take  the  awful  responsibility  of  lifting  the  knife 
that  should  sever  the  cord  that  bound  the  American  colo 
nies  to  the  British  throne.  It  was  very  properly  appre 
hended,  that  the  person  who  should  first  propose  to  de 
clare  the  colonies  independent,  would  be  specially  marked 
by  the  royal  government  as  an  arch  rebel,  and  that  no 
effort  would  be  spared  to  quench  hip  spirit  or  bring  his  per 


252       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

son  to  the  scaffold.  In  that  dark  hour  of  hesitation  and 
fearful  dread,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  assumed 
the  perilous  responsibility  of  presenting  to  Congress  a 
proposition  to  dissolve  all  political  connection  with  Great 
Britain.  The  assembly  of  Virginia,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  had  instructed  its  delegates  to  propose  a  declaration 
of  independence  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  instructions  arrived, 
the  Virginia  delegation  appointed  Mr.  Lee  to  move  a  re 
solution  conformably  to  it.  Accordingly,  on  the  seventh 
of  June,  Mr.  Lee  moved  the  resolution,  (among  others,) 
"  That  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
free  and  independent  states ;  and  that  all  political  connec 
tion  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and 
ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved."  *  The  consideration  of 
the  resolutions  was  deferred  until  the  next  morning. 

On  the  eighth,  Congress  discussed  the  resolutions  in 
committee  of  the  whole  house,  and  finally  deferred  the 
farther  consideration  of  them  until  Monday,  the  tenth.  On 
that  day  it  was  "  Resolved,  That  the  consideration  of  the 
first  resolution  [motion  for  independence]  be  postponed 
to  the  first  Monday  in  July  next,  and,  in  the  meanwhile, 
that  no  time  be  lost,  in  case  the  Congress  agree  thereto, 
a  committee  be  appointed  tq  prepare  a  declaration,  to  the 
effect  of  the  first  resolution,  which  is  in  these  words,  to 
wit :  '  That  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  free  and  independent  states  ;  that  they  are  absolved 


*  Congress  being  of  opinion  that  the  member  who  made  the  first  motion  on  tue 
subject  of  independence  would  certainly  be  exposed  to  personal  and  imminent 
danger,  directed  its  Secretary  to  omit  the  name  of  the  mover.  Accordingly,  ir 
the  journal  of  Friday,  June  7th,  it  is  thus  stated  :  "  Certain  resolutions  respecting 
independence  being  moved  and  seconded,  it  was  resolved,  that  the  consideration 
of  them  be  deferred  until  to-morrow  morning ;  and  that  the  members  be  enjoined 
to  attend  punctually  at  ten  o'clock,  in  order  to  take  the  same  into  their  considera 
tion."  The  name,  neither  of  him  who  moved  the  resolutions,  nor  of  him  who 
eeconded  them,  was  mentioned.  Richard  Henry  Lee  was  the  mover,  and  John 
Adams  second^  *hem. — See  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  by  Us  grandson,  vol  L  p 
170 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  253 

from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown  ;  and  that  al) 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  c>ught  to  be,  totally  dissolved.'  " 

Richard  Henry  Lee,  and  John  Adams,  were  the  chief 
speakers  in  favor  of  the  resolutions,  during  the  debates 
which  occurred  from  the  seventh  to  the  tenth  of  June  in 
clusive  ;  and  they  left  no  argument  unused  that  was  cal 
culated  to  convince  the  hesitating,  confirm  the  wavering, 
or  persuade  and  encourage  the  timid  and  fearful.  Lee, 
in  particular,  was  incessant  in  his  labors  ;  and  his  sweet, 
persuasive  eloquence,  with  all  its  wonted  allurements,  was 
constantly  employed.  His  first  speech  on  the  resolution 
fixed  the  earnest  attention  of  the  Congress,  and  the  con 
cluding  sentences,  as  recorded  by  Botta,  were  replete 
with  eloquent  force  :  "  Why  then,  sir,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  do  we  longer  delay  1  Why  still  deliberate  ]  Let  this 
happy  day  give  birth  to  an  American  republic  !  Let  her 
arise,  not  to  devastate  and  conquer,  but  to  re-establish 
the  reign  of  peace  and  law.  The  eyes  of  Europe  are 
fixed  upon  us  ;  she  demands  of  us  a  living  example  of 
freedom,  that  may  exhibit  a  contrast,  in  the  felicity  of  the 
citizen,  to  the  ever-increasing  tyranny  which  desolates 
her  polluted  shores.  She  invites  us  to  prepare  an  asylum, 
where  the  unhappy  may  find  solace,  and  the  persecuted 
repose.  She  entreats  us  to  cultivate  a  propitious  soil, 
where  that  genuine  plant,  which  first  sprang  and  grew  in 
England,  but  is  now  withered  by  the  blasts  of  Scottish 
tyranny,  may  revive  and  flourish,  sheltering  under  its  salu 
brious  and  interminable  shade  all  the  unfortunate  of  the 
human  race.  If  we  are  not  this  day  wanting  in  our  duty 
to  our  country,  the  names  of  the  American  legislators  of 
'76  will  be  placed  by  posterity  at  the  side  of  those  of 
Theseus,  of  Lycurgus,  of  Romulus,  of  Numa,  of  the 
three  Williams  of  Nassau,  and  of  all  those  whose 
memory  has  been,  and  forever  will  be,  dear  to  virtuous 
men  and  good  citizens." 


2o4  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

The  resolution  to  postpone  the  further  consideration 
of  the  subject,  and  to  appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  a 
declaration  of  independence,  was  adopted,  and  the  next 
day  (the  eleventh)  a  committee  of  five  was  formed,  con 
sisting  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  of  Virginia,  John  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Pennsylvania,  Ro 
ger  Sherman,  of  Connecticut,  and  Robert  R.  Livingston, 
of  New  York.  On  the  evening  of  the  tenth,  Mr.  Lee  re 
ceived  intelligence,  by  express,  from  Virginia,  that  his 
lady  was  seriously  ill,  and  he  was  compelled  to  ask  leave 
of  absence  fora  short  time.  He  left  Philadelphia  the 
next  morning  before  the  committee  was  formed,  and  this 
circumstance  deprived  him  of  the  honor  of  being  a  mem 
ber  of  it,  and  of  acting  as  chairman,  which  position  usual 
legislative  courtesy  would  have  assigned  him.  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee,  and  his  col 
leagues  assigned  to  him  the  task  of  preparing  a  draft  of 
the  declaration  to  be  presented  to  Congress.  It  was  unan 
imously  adopted  by  the  committee  after  a  few  verbal  alte 
rations  by  Mr.  Adams  and  Doctor  Franklin,  and  on  the 
first  of  July,  according  to  the  resolution  of  the  tenth  of 
June,  Congress  resumed  the  consideration  of  Mr.  Lee's 
resolution,  and  the  committee  reported  the  draft  of  a  de 
claration  of  independence.  The  following  is  a  copy  of 
the  original  draft,  before  any  amendments  were  made  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole.*  The  passages  omitted  by 

"•  On  the  eighth  of  July,  four  days  after  the  Declaration,  as  amended,  was  adopted, 
Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  the  following  letter,  and  sent  it,  with  the  original  draft,  to  Mr. 
Lee:— 

PHILADELPHIA,  July  8, 1776. 

DEAR  Sin,— For  news,  I  refer  you  to  your  brother  who  writes  on  that  head, 
I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  agreed  to  by  the 
House,  nnd  ala  as  originally  framed  ;  you  will  judge  whether  it  is  the  better  or 
the  worse  tor  the  critics.  I  shall  return  to  Virginia  after  the  llth  of  August.  1 
wish  my  successor  may  be  certain  to  come  before  that  time :  in  that  case,  I 
shall  hope  to  see  you,  and  not  Wythe,  in  convention,  that  the  business  of  govern 
ment,  which  is  of  everlasting  concern,  may  receive  your  aid.  Adieu,  and  believ« 
mo  to  be,  Your  friend  and  servant, 

To  Richard  Henry  T^e.  Esq.  THOMAS  JEFFERSON 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  255 

Congress,  are  printed  in  Italics,  and  the  substitutions  are 
given  at  the  bottom  of  each  page. 

A    Declaration  by   the   Representatives   of  the    UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA,  in  general  Congress  assembled. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  no- 
cessary  for  one  peop1^  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind 
requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  im 
pel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men 
are  created  equal  ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Cre 
ator  with  inherent  and  inalienable*  rights  ;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ;  that 
to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among 
men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed  ;  that  whenever  any  form  of  government  be 
comes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  tho 
people  to  alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  new  gov 
ernment,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  or 
ganizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem 
most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.  Prudence, 
indeed,  will  dictate,  that  governments,  long  established, 
ishould  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes. 
And,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown,  that  man 
kind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  suffer  able, 
than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which 
they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses 
and  usurpations,  begun  at  a  distant  period,  and  pursuing 
invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce 

*  Certair  unalienable. 


356  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  light,  it  is  theii 
duty,  to  throw  off  such  government,  and  to  provide  new 
guards  for  their  future  security.  Such  has  been  the  pa 
tient  sufferance  of  these  colonies  ;  and  such  is  now  the 
necessity  which  constrains  them  to  expunge*  their  former 
systems  of  government.  The  history  of  the  present  king 
of  Great  Britain,  is  a  history  of  unremitting]  injuries  and 
usurpations  ;  among  which  appears  no  solitary  fact  to  con 
tradict  the  uniform  tenor  of  the  rest ;  but  all  have,\  in  di 
rect  object,  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over 
these  states.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a 
candid  world  ;  for  the  truth  of  which  we  pledge  a  faith  yet 
unsullied  by  falsehood. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  im 
mediate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in 
their  operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained  ;  and 
when  so  suspended,  he  has  neglected  utterly  §  to  attend  to 
them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommoda 
tion  of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would 
relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature  ;  a 
right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only, 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  un 
usual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing  them 
into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  and 
continually,  for  opposing  with  manly  firmness  his  invasions 
on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legislative 
powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  7-eturned  to  the 

*  Alter.  t  Repeated,  J  Having. .  $  Utterly  neglected 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  257 

people  at  large  for  their  exercise,  the  state  remaining  in 
the  mean  time  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from 
without  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
states  :  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  naturali 
zation  of  foreigners  ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to  encourage 
their  migrations  hither  ;  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new 
appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  suffered  the  administration  of  justice  totally  to 
cease  in  some  of  these  states*  refusing  his  assent  to  laws 
for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 

He  has  made  our  judges  dependent  on  his  will  aiL>ne, 
for  the  tenure  of  their  offices  and  the  amount  and  pay 
ment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices  1y  a  self- 
assumed  power,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officers  to  ha 
rass  our  people  and  eat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing  ar 
mies  and  ships  of  war,  without  the  consent  of  our  legisla 
tures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of, 
and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  juris 
diction  foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged 
by  our  laws  ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended 
legislation : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  • 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment 
for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhab 
itants  of  these  states  ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  ; 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  ust  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury  \ 

*  He  has  obstructed  the  acLninistration  of  justice,  by. 
la  many  ewes 


258       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPEN1  ENCE 

For  transporting  us  beyond  the  seas  to  be  tried  foi 
pretended  offences. 

For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary 
government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render 
it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  states  ;* 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  val 
uable  laws,  and  altering  fundamentally  the  forms  of  out 
go  vernments  ; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring 
themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all 
cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  withdrawing  his 
governors,  and\  declaring  us  out  of  his  allegiance  and  pro 
tection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt 
our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty 
and  perfidy,^  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our 
frontiers  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule 
of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages, 
sexes  and  conditions  of  existence  ;  he  has  excited  treason 
able  insurrections  of  our  fellow  citizens  with  the  allure 
ments  of  forfeiture  and  confiscation  of  our  property. 

He  has  constrained  others,\\  taken  captive  on  the  high 
seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the 
executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  them 
selves  by  their  hands. 

He  ha&  waged  civil  war  against  human  nature  itself t  vio* 

*  Colonies.  t  By. 

$  Scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages,  and  totally 

II  Our  fellow  citizen-. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  259 

letting  its  most  sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty  in  the  per 
sons  of  a  distant  people,  who  never  offended  1dm,  captiva 
ting  and  carrying  them  into  slavery  in  another  hemisphere, 
or  to  incur  miserable  death  in  their  transportation  thither. 
This  piratical  warfare,  the  opprobium  of  infidel  powers,  is 
the  warfare  of  the  Christian  king  of  Great  Britain.  De 
termined  to  keep  open  a  market  where  MEN  should  be  louglit 
and  sold,  he  has  prostituted  his  negative  for  suppressing 
every  legislative  attempt  to  prohibit  or  to  restrain  this  ex 
ecrable  commerce.  And  that  this  assemblage  of  horrors 
might  want  no  fact  of  distinguished  dye,  he  is  now  exciting 
those  very  people  to  rise  in  arms  among  us,  and  to  purchase 
that  liberty  of  which  he  has  deprived  them,  by  murdering 
the  people  upon  whom  he  obtruded  them  :  thus  paying  ojf 
former  crimes  committed  against  the  liberties  of  one  people 
with  crimes  which  he  urges  them  to  commit  against  the 
lives  of  another. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms  :  our  repeated  peti 
tions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A 
prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which 
may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  people 
who  mean  to  be  free*  Future  ages  will  scarce  believe  that 
the  hardiness  of  one  man  adventured  within  the  short  com 
pass  of  twelve  years  only,  to  build  a  foundation,  so  broad 
and  undisguised,  for  tyranny  over  a  people,  fostered  and 
fixed  in  principles  of  freedom. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of 
attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  a\  jurisdiction  over 
these  our  stati  s.\  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circum 
stances  of  our  emigratior.  and  settlement  hero;  no  one  of 
which  could  warrant  so  strange  a  pretension;  that  thcsg 

*  Free  people.  t  An  unwarrantable.  t  Ua. 


260        THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

were  effected  at  the  expense  of  our  own  blood  and  treasure, 
unassisted  by  the  wealth  or  the  strength  of  Great  Britain  : 
that  in  constituting  indeed  our  several  forms  of  government, 
we  had  adopted  one  common  king,  thereby  laying  a  founda 
tion  for  perpetual  league  and  amity  with  them  ;   but  that 
*,o  their  parliament  was  no  part  of  our  constitution,  nor 
ever  in  idea,  if  history  may  be  credited  ;  and  we*  appealed 
to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity  as  well  as  to]  the 
ties  of  our  common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations 
which  were  likely  to\.  interrupt  our  connexions  and  corre 
spondence.    They  too  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  jus 
tice  and  of  consanguinity ;  and  when  occasions  have  been 
given  them,  by  the  regular  course  of  their  laws,  of  removing 
from  their  councils  the  disturbers  of  our  harmony,  they  have 
by  their  free  election,  re-established  them  in  power.     At 
this  very  time  too,  they  are  permitting  their  chief  magistrate 
to  send  over,  not  only  soldiers  of  our  common  biood,  but 
\Scotch  and\  foreign  mercenaries  to  invade  and  destroy  us. 
These  facts  have  given  the  last  stab  to  agonizing  affection  ; 
and  manly  spirit  bids  us  to  renounce  for  ever  these  unfeeling 
brethren.     We  must  endeavor  to  forget  our  former  love  for 
them  ;  we  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which 
denounces  our  separation,    and  hold  them,  as  we   hold 
the  rest  of  mankind,  enemies  in  war ;  in  peace,  friends. 
"We  might  have  been  a  free  and  great  people  together  ; 
but  a  communication  of  grandeur  and  of  freedom,  it  seems, 
is  below  their  dignity.     Be  it  so,  since  they  will  have  it 
The  road  to  happiness  and  to  glory  is  open  to  us  too  ;  we 
will  climb  it  apart  from  them,  and  acquiesce  in  the  necessity 
which  denounces  our  eternal  separation. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America  in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to 
the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rectitude  of  our 

*  Have.  t  And  we  have  conjured  them  by.  \  Would  inevitably 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  261 

intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
good  people  of  these  states,  reject  and  renounce  all  alle 
giance  and  subjection  to  the  kings  of  Great  Britain,  and 
others  who  may  hereafter  claim  by,  through,  or  under 
them  ;  we  utterly  dissolve  all  political  connection  which 
may  heretofore  have  subsisted  between  us  and  the  Par 
liament  or  people  of  Great  Britain  ;  and,Jinally,  we  do  as 
sert  the  colonies  to  be  free  and  independent  states  ;*  and 
that,  as  free  and  independent  states,  they  have  full  power 
to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish 
commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  inde 
pendent  states  may  of  right  do.  And,  for  the  support  of 
this  declaration,!  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our 
lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor." 

The  foregoing  draft  of  a  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  debated,  paragraph  after  paragraph,  from  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  June  (the  day  it  was  reported),  until  the  fourth 
of  July  ;  and  many  alterations,  omissions,  and  amendments, 
it  has  been  seen,  were  made.  In  the  meanwhile, the  friends 
of'the  measure  were  fearful  that  a  unanimous  vote  of  all 
the  colonies  could  not  be  obtained,  inasmuch  as  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania  refused  to  sanction  the  measure.  The 
delegates  from  the  former  colony  were  unanimously  in  fa 
vor  of  it,  while  those  of  the  latter  were  divided  in  opinion. 

In  consequence  of  the  action  in  the  Assembly  of  Penn 
sylvania,  it  was  deemed  important  that  the  sense  of  the 
people  upon  the  momentous  question  before  Congress 
should  be  taken,  and  accordingly  a  convention  was  called 
to  meet  at  Philadelphia  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  June,  con 
sisting  of  committees  from  each  county.  The  members 
of  that  convention,  acting  as  the  representatives  of  the 

*  Colonies,  solemnly  publish  and  declare,  that  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of 
right  cught  to  be,  free  and  independent  states  ;  that  they  are  absolved  from  all 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them 
vid  the  state  of  Great  Britain,  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved. 

t  With  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Pivine  Providence. 


262  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

people  of  Pennsylvania  passed  a  resolution  in  which  they 
expressed  "their  willingness  to  concur  in  a  vote  of  Con 
gress,  declaring  the  united  colonies  free  and  independent 
states."  This  resolution  left  the  Pennsylvania  delegates 
free  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  judg 
ments  and  consciences. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  in  the  biography  of 
Charles  Carroll  and  others  of  the  delegates  from  Mary 
land,  the  convention  of  that  colony,  as  late  as  the  latter 
part  of  May,  instructed  their  delegates  not  to  vote  for 
independence  ;  but  through  the  indefatigable  labors  and 
great  influence  of  Chase,  Carroll,  Paca,  and  others,  another 
convention  was  held  in  that  colony ;  and  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  June  they  recalled  their  former  instructions  and 
empowered  their  delegates  "  to  concur  with  the  other  col 
onies  in  a  declaration  of  independence,  in  forming  a  union 
among  the  colonies,  in  making  foreign  alliances,  and  in 
adopting  such  measures  as  should  be  judged  necessary 
for  securing  the  liberties  of  America.* 

On  the  day  upon  which  the  committee  reported  the  De 
claration,  it  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole 
House,  and  all  the  colonies  assented  to  it  except  Pennsylva 
nia  and  Delaware.  Four  of  the  seven  delegates  from  the 
former  voted  against  it,  and  the  two  delegates  from  Dela 
ware,  who  were  present,  were  divided — Thomas  M'Kean 
in  favor  of  it,  and  George  Read  opposed  to  it.  It  came 
up  for  final  decision  on  the  fourth  of  July.  Robert  Morris 
and  John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  were  absent.  The 
former  was  in  favor,  the  latter  was  against,  the  resolution. 
Of  the  five  who  were  present,  Doctor  Franklin,  James 
Wilson,  and  John  Morton,  were  in  favor  of  it,  and  Willing 
and  Humphreys  were  opposed  to  it ;  so  the  vote  of  Penn 
sylvania  was  secured.  To  obtain  the  vote  of  Delaware, 

*  Pltkhi  TO!  i ,  p.  364 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  263 

Mr.  M'Kean  after  the  vote  on  the  first  of  July,  sent  an 
express  after  Mr.  Rodney,  the  other  delegate  from  that 
colony,  then  eighty  miles  distant.  He  arrived  in  time 
to  cast  his  vote  on  the  fourth,  and  thus  made  a  majori 
ty  for  Delaware.  Thus  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  col 
onies  was  given  in  favor  of  declaring  the  United  Colonies 

FREE    AND    INDEPENDENT    STATES,  "  having    full  power    to 

levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish 
commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  inde 
pendent  states  may  of  right  do."  From  that  day  the 
word  colony  is  not  known  in  our  history.* 

Several  of  the  amendments  and  alterations  of  the  origi 
nal  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  were  merely 
verbal  ones,  but  there  were  others  involving  matters  of  se 
rious  import.  It  has  been  said  that  the  paragraph  com 
mencing  with  the  words  "  He  has  waged  a  cruel  war 
against  human  nature  itself,"  &c.,  was  not  palatable  to  those 
delegates  who  were  slave-holders,  arid  that  it  was  stricken 
out  lest  it  should  be  a  cause  for  them  to  cast  a  negative 
vote  on  the  question.  But  there  is  not  the  least  shadow 
of  evidence  to  prove  that  such  selfish  motives  guided  any 
one  in  that  august  assembly.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  a 
high  and  holy  regard  for  truth  and  justice,  which  caused 
that  eloquent  paragraph  to  be  stricken  out.  The  Con 
gress  in  that  Declaration  was  enumerating  those  aggres 
sions  against  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colonies, 
justly  chargeable  upon  George  III.  as  an  individual,  hav 
ing  been  done  by  his  personal  sanction,  or  by  his  dele 
gated  representatives.  Such  being  the  case,  it  was  mani 
festly  unjust,  indeed  not  strictly  true,  to  charge  him  with 
the  evils  concomitant  to  slavery  and  the  slave-trade. 

*  On  the  ninth  of  September  ensuing,  Congress  adopted  the  following  resolu 
tion  :  "  That  in  all  continental  commissions  where  heretofore  the  words  "  United 
Colonies"  have  been  used,  the  style  be  altered  in  future  to  the  "  United  States." 
In  1777,  the  red  ground  of  the  American  flag  was  altered  to  thirteen  red  and  white 
•tripes,  as  an  emblem  of  the  thirteen  states  united  in  a  war  for  liberty. 


264       THE  DECLARATION  OP  INDEPENDENCE 

This  trade  was  begun  and  carried  on,  long  before  the 
reign  of  even  the  first  George  ;  and  it  is  not  known  that 
George  the  Third  ever  gave  his  assent  to  anything  rela 
ting  to  slavery,  except  to  abolish  it  and  declare  the  trade 
a  piracy.* 

The  Declaration  as  amended,  and  adopted  by  Congress, 
and  which  was  sent  forth  to  the  world  as  the  voice  of  the 
people  of  the  thirteen  United  States,  was  as  follows  : 

"  When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  become/s 
necessary  for  one  people,  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  mankind 
requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  which  impel 
them  to  the  separation* 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident — that  all  men 
are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Crea 
tor,  with  certain  unalienable  rights  ;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure 
these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed;  that  whenever  any  form  of  government 
becomes  destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  alter  or  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  govern 
ment,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and 
organizing  its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall 
seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 
Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long 
established,  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient 
causes;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown,  that 

*  By  a  resolution  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  the  slave-trade  has  been 
declared  a  piracy,  and  the  maritime  nations  of  Europe  were  by  that  resolution 
Invited  to  eo  consider  it  by  the  law  of  nations.  Mr.  Jefferson  was,  doubtless,  tho 
first  man  in  modern  times  who  denounced  the  traffic  as  a  «'  piratical  warfare."— 
CM  Life  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  vol.  i.,  p.  176. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  263 

mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  suf- 
ferable,  than  to  right  themselves,  by  abolishing  the  forms 
to  which  they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of 
abuses  and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same 
object,  evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute 
despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off 
*uch  government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their 
future  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of 
these  colonies  ;  arid  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  con 
strains  them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government. 
The  history  of  the  present  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  his 
tory  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in 
direct  object  the  eatablishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny 
over  these  states.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to 
a  candid  world. 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 
and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  imme 
diate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their 
operations  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained  ;  and,  when  so 
suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accommoda 
tion  of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people  would 
relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature — a 
right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unu 
sual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository  of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing 
them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses,  repeatedly,  for 
opposing  with  manly  firmness  his  invasions  on  the  rights 
of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected  ;    whereby  the  legislative 
powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the 
12 


266       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

people  at  large  for  their  exercise  ;  the  state  remaining,  in 
the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from 
without  and  convulsions  within. 

He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of  these 
states  ;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for  the 
naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others  to 
encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions 
of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by 
refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary 
powers. 

He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone  for  the 
tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment  of 
their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent 
hither  swarms  of  officers,  to  harass  our  people  and  eat 
out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing 
armies,  without  the  consent  o£  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of, 
and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  juris 
diction  foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowledged 
by  our  laws  ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of  pretended 
legislation  : 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  : 

For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punishment 
for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the  inhabi 
tants  of  these  states  : 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world  : 

For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent : 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial 
by  jury  : 

For  transporting  ts  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for  pre 
tended  offences : 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  £67 

For  abciishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary 
government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render 
it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies  : 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valu 
able  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our 
governments  : 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring 
themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all 
cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring  us  out 
of  his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt 
our  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is,  at  this  time,  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries,  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun  with  circumstances  of  cruelty 
and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive 
on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their  coun'iy,  to 
become  ihe  executioners  of  their  friends  and  brethren, 
or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  among  us,  and 
has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  fron 
tiers  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of 
warfare  is  an  undistinguished  desti notion,  of  all  ages, 
sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms  :  our  repeated  peti 
tions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury.  A 
prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act 
which  may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a 
free  people. 


268  THE    DECLARATION    OF    IM^EPENDENCE 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  to  our  British 
brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of 
attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  unwarrantable 
jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  cir 
cumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here.  We 
have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and  magnanimity, 
and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of  our  commoi? 
kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations  which  would  in 
evitably  interrupt  our  connections  and  correspondence. 
They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  of 
cunsanguinity.  We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the 
necessity  which  denounces  our  separation,  and  hold  them 
as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind — enemies  in  war — in 
peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  in  general  Congress  assembled,  appealing  to 
the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world,  for  the  rectitude  of  our 
intentions,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  the 
good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly  publish  and 
declare  that  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought 
to  be,  free  and  independent  states  :  that  they  are  absolved 
fiom  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  poli 
tical  connection  between  them  and  the  state  of  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved ;  and  that, 
as  free  and  independent  states,  they  have  full  power  to 
levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish 
commerce,  and  to  do  all  other  acts  and  things  which  inde 
pendent  states  may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  support  of 
this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection 
of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other 
our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred  honor." 

This  Declaration  was  signed,  on  the  day  of  its 
adoption,  by  John  Hancock,  the  President  of  Congress, 
only  ;  and,  with  his  name  alone,  it  was  sent  forth  to  the 
world.  It  was  ordered  to  be  entered  at  length  upcii 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  2G9 

the  journal ;  and  it  was  also  ordered  to  be  engrossed 
upon  parchment  for  the  delegates  to  sign  it.  This 
solemn  act  was  done  on  the  second  day  of  August  fol 
lowing,  by  fifty-four  delegates,  arid  two  others  signed 
it  subsequently,  (they  not  being  present  at  that  time,) 
making  the  whole  number  of  the  signers,  Jiftij-six* 

The  Declaration  was  received  with  public  demonstra 
tions  of  approbation  throughout  the  whole  land.  Pro 
cessions  were  formed ;  cannons  were  fired  ;  bells  were 
rung  ;  orations  were  pronounced  ;  and  everything  which 
delight  could  suggest  was  exhibited.  Everywhere,  the 
hearts  of  the  patriots  were  gladdened,!  and,  although 
long  years  of  trial,  and  misery,  and  bloody  strife,  appeared 
before  them,  they  felt  that  by  this  act  half  the  work  was 
accomplished,  for,  as  "  union  is  strength,"  they  were  tlien 
strong.^ 

Having  thus  briefly  glanced  at  the  events  immediately 
connected  with  the  conception,  preparation  and  adoption 
cf  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  we  now  propose 
to  examine,  and  prove  the  truth,  of  the  various  specific 
charges  made  therein  against  the  King  of  Great  Britain.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  royal  governors — 
the  King's  deputies — acting  as  his  representatives,  were 
regarded,  in  these  charges,  as  the  King  himself;  and, 
whenever  they  were  guilty  of  a  sin  of  omission  or  coir- 

*  It  is  said  that  after  the  Declaration  was  signed,  a  deep  solemnity  rested  upon 
nil  present,  and  profound  silence  pervaded  the  assembly.  It  was  at  length  broken 
by  Dr.  Franklin,  who  remarked,  "  Gentlemen,  we  must  now  all  hang  together,  or  we 
shall  most  assuredly  hang  separately." 

t  Washington,  then  encamped  upon  York  Island,  received  a  copy  of  the  Decla. 
ration  on  the  ninth  of  July,  and  at  six  o'clock  that  evening  the  regiments  of  his 
army  were  paraded,  and  the  document  was  read  aloud  in  the  hearing  of  them  all 
It  was  greeted  with  the  most  hearty  demonstrations  of  joy  and  applause. 

J  Samuel  Adams,  in  a  letter  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  dated  at "  Philadelphia,  July 
15th,  1776,"  said,  "  Our  Declaration  of  Independence  has  given  vigor  to  the  spirit* 
of  the  people.  Had  this  decisive  measure  been  taken  nine  months  ago,  it  is  my 
opinion  that  Canada  would  by  this  time  have  been  in  our  hands.  But  what  doei 
it  avail  to  find  fault  with  what  is  past  ?  Let  us  do  better  for  the  future." 


270  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

mission,  in  the  exercise  of  their  authority,  it  was  con 
sidered  as  the  act  of  the  Sovereign. 

I.  lie  has  refused  Ids  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome 

and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

After  the  conclusion  of  a  general  peace  in  1763, 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  states  of  Europe  with 
which  she  had  been  at  war  for  seven  long  years,  the  con 
duct  of  the  government  toward  its  American  colonies 
was  very  materially  altered.  Whether  it  arose  from 
avarice,  or  from  a  jealousy  of  the  power  of  the  colonies 
so  signally  displayed  during  the  war  just  closed,  or  a  fear 
that  a  knowledge  of  that  power  would  make  the  colonists 
aspire  to  political  independence,  it  is  not  easy  to  deter 
mine.  It  is  probable  that  these  several  causes  com 
bined  engendered  those  acts  of  direct  and  indirect 
oppression,  which  finally  impelled  the  colonies  to  open 
rebellion. 

The  growing  commercial  importance  of  the  colonies, 
and  their  rapidly  accumulating  wealth  and  more  rapid 
increase  of  population,  required  new  laws  to  be  enacted, 
from  time  to  time,  to  meet  the  exigencies  which  these 
natural  increments  produced.  The  colonial  assemblies 
made  several  enactments  touching  their  commercial  ope 
rations,  the  emission  of  a  colonial  currency,  and  colonial 
representation  in  the  imperial  parliament,  all  of  which 
would  have  been  highly  beneficial  to  the  colonies,  and  not 
at  all  prejudicial  to  the  best  interests  of  Great  Britain. 
But  the  jealousies  of  weak  or  wicked  ministers,  excited 
by  the  still  stronger  jealousies  of  colonial  governors,  inter 
posed  between  the  King  and  his  American  subjects,  and 
to  these  laws,  so  "  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  pub 
lic  good,"  he  refused  his  royal  assent.  When  the  excite 
ments  produced  by  the  "  Stamp  Act  "  resulted  in  popular 
tumults,  an  1  public  property  was  destroyed,  and  royal  autho^ 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  271 

lity  was  defied,  the  home  government,  through  Secretary 
Conway,  informed  the  Americans  that  these  things  should 
be  overlooked,  provided  the  assemblies  should,  by  appro 
priations,  make  full  compensation  for  all  losses  thus  sus 
tained.  This  requisition  the  assemblies  complied  with  ; 
but  in  Massachusetts,  where  most  of  the  indemnification 
was  to  be  made,  the  legislatuie,  in  authorizing  the  pay- 
ment  thereof,  granted  free  pardon  to  all  concerned  in  the 
tumults,  desiring  thus  to  test  the  sincerity  of  the  proposi 
tion  of  the  Crown  to  forgive  the  offenders.  This  act  was 
"  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the  public  good,"  for  it 
would  have  produced  quiet,  and  a  return  of  confidence  in 
the  promises  of  the  King.  But  the  King  and  his  council 
disallowed  the  act — he  "  refused  his  assent." 

IT.  He  lias  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  imme 
diate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in  their 
operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained ;  and, 
when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to 
them. 

In  1764,  the  assembly  of  New  York  were  desirous  of 
taking  measures  to  conciliate  the  Indian  tribes,  particu 
larly  the  Six  Nations,  and  to  attach  them  firmly  to  tho 
British  colonies.  To  this  measure  Governor  Golden  lent 
his  cheerful  assent,  privately  ;  but  representations  having 
j^een  made  to  the  King,  by  an  agent  of  Lord  Bute,  then 
travelling  in  the  colonies,  that  the  ulterior  design  was  to 
"add  new  strength  to  the  physical  .power  of  the  colonists 
for  some  future  action  inimical  to  their  dependence 
upon  Great  Britain,  the  monarch  sent  instructions  to  all 
his  governors  to  desist  from  such  alliances,  or  to  suspend 
their  operations  until  his  assent  should  be  given.  With 
this  order,  the  matter  rested,  for  then  (as  was  doubtless 
his  intention)  he  "utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them." 
The  assembly  of  Massachusetts,  in  1770,  passed  a  law 


272  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

for  taxing  the  commissioners  of  customs  and  other  offi 
cers  of  the  Crown,  the  same  as  other  citizens.  Of  this 
they  complained  to  the  King,  and  he  sent  instructions  tc 
Governor  Hutchinson  to  assent  to  no  tax  bill  of  this 
kind,  without  first  obtaining  the  royal  consent.  These 
instructions  were  in  violation  of  the  expressed  power  of 
the  charter  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  the  assembly,  by  reso 
lution,  declared  "  that  for  the  Governor  to  withhold  his 
assent  to  bills,  merely  by  force  of  his  instructions,  is 
vacating  the  charter,  giving  instructions  the  force  of  law 
within  the  province."  Neither  the  assembly  nor  the 
Governor  would  yield,  and  no  tax  bill  was  passed  that 
session.  The  assembly  was  prorogued  until  September, 
and  then  again  until  April,  1772  ;  and  all  that  while  laws 
of  pressing  importance  were  virtually  annulled — the  King 
"  utterly  neglected  to  attend  to  them." 

HI.  fie  has  refused  to  pass  oilier  laws  for  the  accommoda* 
tion  of  large  districts  of  people  unless  those  people  would, 
relinquish,  the  right  of  representation  in  the  legislature, 
a  right  inestimable  to  them  and  formidable  to  tyrants 
only. 

In  the  spring  of  1774,  Parliament  passed  a  bill,  by 
which  the  free  system  of  English  government  in  Canada, 
or,  as  it  was  called,  the  "  province  of  Quebec,"  was  radi 
cally  changed.  Instead  of  the  popular  representative  sys 
tem  by  a  colonial  assembly,  as  obtained  in  the  other  Anglo 
American  colonies,  the  government  was  vested  in  a  Legis 
lative  council,  having  all  power,  except  that  of  levying 
taxes.  The  members  of  the  council  were  appointed  by 
the  crown,  the  tenure  of  their  office  depending  upon  the 
will  of  the  King.  Thus  the  people  were  deprived  of 
the  representative  privilege.  A  large  majority  of  the  in 
habitants  were  French  Roman  Catholics,  and  as  the  same 
act  established  that  religion  in  the  province,  they  consid- 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  273 

ercd  this  a  sufficient  equivalent  for  the  political  privilege 
that  had  been  taken  away  from  them.    But  "  large  districts" 
of  people  of  English  descent  bordering  on  Nova  Scotia, 
felt  this  act  to  be  a  grievous  burden,  for  they  had  ever 
been  taught  that  the  light  of  representation  was  the  dear 
est  prerogative  conferred  by  the  Magna  Charta  of  Great 
Britain.     They  therefore  sent  strong   remonstrances  to 
parliament,  and  humble  petitions  to  the  King,  to  restore 
them  this  right.     But  not  only  were  their  remonstrances 
and  petitions  unheeded,  but  their  efforts  to  procure  the 
passage  of  laws  by  the  Legislative  Council  touching  their 
commercial  regulations  with  Nova  Scotia,  were  fruitless, 
and  they  were  plainly  told  by  Governor  Carleton  (under 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs)  that 
no  such  laws  should  be  passed  until  they  should  ceaso 
their  clamors  for  representation,  and  quietly  submit  to  the 
administration  of  the  new  laws.     But,  like  their    more 
southern  neighbors,    they  could  not  consent  to  sacrifice 
a  principle,  even  upon  the  stern  demands  of  hard  neces 
sity,  and  they  were  obliged  to  forego  the  advantages  which 
asked-for  enactments  would  have  given.     The  right  which 
they  claimed,  was  a  right  guarantied  by  the   British  con 
stitution,  and  was  "  inestimable  to  them."     But  as  the 
right  was  "formidable  to  tyrants,"  and  as  the  King,  by  his 
sanction  of  the  destruction  of  free  English  laws  in  Canada 
had  dared  to  become  such,  they  were  obliged  to  submit, 
or  else  "  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  Leg 
islature." 

About  the  same  time,  a  bill  was  passed  "For  the  better 
regulating  the  government  in  the  province  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay."  This  bill  provide'3  for  an  alteration  in  the 
constitution  of  that  province,  as  it  stood  upon  the  charter 
of  William  III.  to  do  away  with  the  popular  elections 
which  decided  everything  in  that  colony  ;  to  take  away 
the  executive  power  out  of  the  hands  of  the  growing  do 
12* 


274        THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

mocratic  party  ;  and  to  vest  the  nominations  of  the  coun« 
cil,  of  the  judges,  and  of  magistrates  of  all  kinds,  inclu 
ding  sheriffs,  in  the  Crown,  and  in  some  cases  in  the 
King's  governor.  This  act  deprived  the  people  of  free 
"representation  in  the  legislature  ;"  and  when  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  their  rights,  and  on  the  refusal  of  the  Governor 
to  issue  warrants  for  the  election  of  members  of  Assembly, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  their  charter  before 
altered,  they  called  a  convention,  their  expressed  wishes, 
for  the  passage  of  "  laws  for  the  accommodation  of  large 
districts  of  people"  were  entirely  disregarded.  They 
were  refused  the  passage  of  necessary  laws,  unless  they 
would  quietly  "  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in 
the  legislature, — a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formi 
dable  to  tyrants  only." 

IV.  He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unu 
sual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  tlie  repository    of 
their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing 
them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 
The  inhabitants  of  Boston  became  the  special  objects 
of  ministerial  vengeance,  after  the  news  of  the  destruc 
tion  of  tea  in  that  harbor  reached  England.     That  event 
occurred  on  the  evening  of  the  sixteenth  of  December, 
1773,  and  in  February  following  the  matter    was  laid 
before  Parliament.     It  was  at  once  determined  to  punish 
severely  the  people  of  that  refractory  town  ;    and  accord 
ingly  Lord  North,  then  prime  minister,  presented  a  bill 
which  provided  for  the  total  annihilation  of  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  Boston,  and  the  removal  of  the  courts,  offi 
cers  of  customs,  &c.,  therefrom.      This   was  the  famous 
*•  Boston  Port  Bill,"  and  it  went,  into  effect  on  the  first  of 
June  following. 

General  Gage,  who  had  been   appointed  governor  of 
the  province   arrived  at  Boston  about  the  last  of  May,  and 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  275 

at  once  proceeded,  according  to  his  instructions  to  remove 
the  courts,  &c.,  from  that  town.  He  also  adjourned  the 
assembly,  m  the  thirty-first  of  May,  to  meet  on  the  seventh 
of  June,  at  Salem.  But  he  retained  all  the  public  records 
in  Boston,  so  that  if  the  members  of  the  assembly  had 
been  so  disposed  they  cguld  not  have  referred  to  them. 
Military  power  ruled  there  —  two  regiments  of  British 
troops  being  encamped  upon  the  Commons.  The  patri 
otic  assembly,  although  "  distant  from  the  repository  of 
the  public  records,"  and  in  a  place  extremely  "uncomfort 
able,"  were  not  "  fatigued  into  compliance  with  his  mea 
sures,"  but,  in  spite  of  the  Governor,  they  elected 
delegates  to  a  general  Congress.  They  adopted  various 
other  measures  for  the  public  good,  and  then  adjourned. 

V.  He  lias  dissolved  representative  liouses  repeatedly,  for 
opposing  ivith  manly  firmness  his  invasions  on  the  rights 
of  the  people. 

In  January,  1768,  the  assembly  of  Massachusetts 
addressed  a  circular  to  all  the  other  colonies,  asking  their 
co-operation  with  them  in  asserting  and  maintaining  the 
principle  that  Great  Britain  had  no  right  to  tax  the  colo 
nies  without  their  consent.  This  was  a  bold  measure, 
and  more  than  all  others  displeased  the  British  ministry. 
As  soon  as  intelligence  of  this  proceeding  reached  the 
ministry,  Lord  Hillsborough,  the  secretary  for  foreign 
affairs,  was  directed  to  send  a  letter  to  Bernard,  the 
Governor  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  it  was  declared, 
that  "  his  majesty  considers  this  step  as  evidently  tending 
to  create  unwarrantable  combinations,  to  excite  unjustifi 
able  opposition  to  the  constitutional  authority  of  parlia 
ment  ;"  and  then  he  added,  "  It  is  the  King's  pleasure, 
that  as  soon  as  the  general  court  is  again  assembled,  at 
the  time  prescribed  by  the  charter,  you  require  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  in  his  majesty's  name,  to  rescind 


276  THE     DECLARATION    OF     INDEPENDENCE 

the  resolutions  which  gave  birth  to  the  circular  lettei 
from  the  speaker,  and  to  declare  their  disapprobation  of, 
and  dissent  lo,  that  rash  and  hasty  proceeding.  If  the 
new  assembly  should  refuse  to  comply  with  his  majesty's 
reasonable  expectations,  it  is  the  King's  pleasure  that  you 
should  immediately  dissolve  them." 

In  accordance  with  his  instructions,  Governor  Bernard 
required  the  assembly  to  rescind  the  resolutions.  To  this 
requisition,  the  house  replied  :  "  If  the  votes  of  this  house 
are  to  be  controlled  by  the  direction  of  a  minister,  we 
have  left  us  but  a  vain  semblance  of  liberty.  We  have 
now  only  to  inform  you  that  this  house  have  voted  not  to 
rescind,  and,  that  on  a  division  on  the  question,  there  were 
ninety-two  yeas  and  seventeen  nays."  The  Governor  at 
once  proceeded  to  dissolve  the  assembly  ;  but  before  the 
act  was  accomplished,  that  body  had  prepared  a  list  of 
serious  accusations  against  him,  and  a  petition  to  the  King 
for  his  removal.  Counter  circulars  were  sent  to  the 
several  colonies,  warning  them  to  beware  imitating  the 
factious  and  rebellious  conduct  of  Massachusetts  ;  but  they 
entirely  failed  to  produce  the  intended  effect,  arid  the  as 
semblies  in  several  of  the  colonies  were  dissolved  by  the 
respective  governors. 

In  1769,  the  assemblies  of  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina  were  dissolved  by  their  governors,  for  adopting  reso 
lutions  boldly  denying  the  right  of  the  King  and  parliament 
to  tax  the  colonies — to  remove  offenders  out  of  the  coun 
try  for  trial — and  other  acts  which  infringed  upon  the 
sacred  rights  of  the  people. 

In  1774,  when  the  various  colonial  assemblies  enter 
tained  the  proposition  for  a  general  congress,  they  were 
nearly  all  dissolved  by  the  respective  governors,  to  pre 
vent  the  adoption  of  the  scheme  and  the  election  of  dele 
gates  to  that  national  council.  But  the  people  assembled 
in  popular  conventions,  assumed  legislative  powers,  and 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  2V7 

3lected  their  delegates  to  a  General  Congress,  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  of  royal  minions  to  restrain  them.  These  disso 
lutions  of"  representative  houses  repeatedly"  only  tended 
jo  inflame  the  minds  of  the  people  and  widen  the  breach 
between  them  and  their  rulers. 

VI.  He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions, 
to  cause  others  to  be  elected ;  whereby  the  legislative 
poivers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned  to  the 
people  at  large  for  their  exercise,  the  state  remaining,  in 
the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from 
without  and  convulsions  within. 

Soon  after  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1767,  the  coi- 
onists  were  again  alarmed  at  the  expressed  intention  of 
ministers  to  enforce  a  new  clause  in  the  Mutiny  Act.  This 
act  granted  power  to  every  officer,  upon  obtaining  a  war 
rant  from  a  justice,  to  break  into  any  house  by  day  or  by 
night,  in  search  of  deserters.  The  new  clause  alluded  to 
provided  that  the  troops  sent  out  from  England  should  be 
furnished  with  quarters,  beer,  salt  and  vinegar,  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  colonies.  The  people  justly  regarded  this  as 
disguised  taxation,  and  opposed  it  as  a  violation  of  the 
same  principles  as  those  upon  which  the  Stamp  Act  tram 
pled.  Besides,  the  soldiers  were  insolent  and  overbearing 
toward  the  citizens ;  they  were  known  to  be  quartered 
here  for  the  purpose  of  abridging  and  subduing  the  inde 
pendent  actions  of  the  people,  and  the  suppliers  demanded 
were  to  be  drawn  from  the  very  men  whom  they  came  tc 
injure  and  oppress. 

The  Assembly  of  New  York  refused  to  make  the  re 
quired  provisions  for  the  troops,  and  in  consequence  of 
this  disobedience  of  royal  orders,  its  legislative  functions 
were  entirely  suspended.  The  Assembly  was  prohibited 
from  making  any  bill,  order,  resolution  or  vote,  except  for 
adjourning,  or  choosing  a  speaker,  until  the  requirements 


278       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

were  complied  with.  Consequently  "the  legislative  pow 
ers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  returned  to  the  people  at 
large  for  their  exercise,  the  state  remaining,  in  the  mean 
time,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without 
and  convulsions  within."  Thus  matters  stood  for  several 
•nonths. 

The  Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  also,  after  its  dissolution 
by  the  governor  in  July,  1768,  was  not  permitted  to  meet 
again  until  the  last  Wednesday  of  May,  1769,  and  then 
they  found  the  state  house  surrounded  by  a  military  guard, 
with  cannon  pointed  directly  at  the  place  wherein  they 
met  for  deliberation.  Thus  restricted  in  the  free  exer 
cise  of  their  functions  as  legislators,  the  power  they  had 
possessed  "  returned  to  the  people,  "  because  it  was  an 
nulled  in  them  by  restraining  their  freedom  of  action 

VII.    He  lias  endeavored   to  prevent  the  population  of 
these  states  — for  that  purpose,  obstructing  the  laws  for 
the  naturalization  of  foreigners,  refusing  to  pass  others 
to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  con- 
ditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 
John,  Earl  of  Bute,  was  the  pupil  and  favorite  com 
panion  of  George  III.  while  he  was  yet  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  when,  on  the  sudden  death  of  his  grandfather,  George 
II., he  became  King,  he  looked  to  this  nobleman  for  council 
and  advice.     He  was  one  of  his  first  cabinet,  and  so  com 
pletely  did  he  influence  the  mind  of  the  King,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  his  reign,  that  those  who  wished  for  place  or  pre 
ferment,  first  made  their  suits  to  the  Earl  of  Bute. 

Among  other  measures  advised  by  Bute,  was  the  employ 
ment  of  men,  in  secret  service,  in  different  parts  of  the 
realm,  to  keep  tli3  King  advised  of  all  that  in  any  way 
ejected  the  power,  stability  and  glory  of  the  crown. 
A.n  agent  of  this  kind  was  sent  by  Bute  to  America 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  279 

and  the  glowing  account  which  he  gave  of  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  colonists  in  wealth  and  number,  after  the 
peace  of  1763,  and  the  great  influx  of  German  immigrants, 
caused  Bute  to  advise  his  royal  master  to  look  well  to  those 
things,  lest  a  spirit  of  independence  should  grow  side  by 
side  with  the  increase  of  power,  which  would  finally  re 
fuse  to  acknowledge  a  distant  sovereignty,  and  defy  the 
authority  of  the  British  crown.  Some  of  the  colonial  gov 
ernors  within  whose  jurisdiction  immigrants  had  been  most 
freely  settled,  encouraged  this  idea,  for  they  found  the 
Grerman  people,  in  general,  strongly  imbued  with  princi 
ples  of  political  freedom.  Added  to  this  innate  character 
istic,  they  remembered  the  German  battle-fields  where 
George  II.,  in  his  efforts  to  maintain  the  Electorate  of 
Hanover,  had  been  the  cause  of  the  offering  of  whole  hec 
atombs  of  their  countrymen  upon  the  altar  of  the  Moloch, 
War. 

George  III.  therefore,  at  the  instigation  of  Bute,  took  mea 
sures  to  arrest  any  influence  which  this  Germanic  leaven 
might  exert,  and  he  cast  obstacles  in  the  way  of  further 
immigration  to  any  extent.  He  also  became  jealous  of  the 
tendency  to  immigration  to  the  more  salubrious  states,  es 
pecially  Roman  Catholic  Maryland,  which  the  French  of 
Canada  exhibited,  fearing  their  ancient  animosities  might, 
by  contact  with  the  English  colonies,  weaken  the  loyalty 
of  the  latter. 

The  colonists  on  the  other  hand,  joyfully  hailed  the  ap 
proach  of  the  German  immigrants,  and  extended  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  their  now  peaceful  French  brethren. 
Both  interest  and  policy  dictated  this  course  toward  the 
immigrant,  and  the  colonial  assemblies  adopted  various 
measures  to  encourage  their  migration  hither.  Unwilling 
to  excite  alarm  among  the  colonists  the  King  endeavored 
to  thwart  the  operation  of  these  measures  by  instructing 
tiis  governors  to  refuse  their  assent  to  many  of  those  enact 


280       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

ments  until  the  royal  consent  should  be  obtained.  Such 
refusals  were  made  under  various  pretences,  and  there  was 
so  much  delay  in  the  administration  of  the  naturalization 
laws,  through  which  alone  foreigners  could  hold  lands  in 
fee,  and  enjoy  other  privileges,  that  immigration  in  a  mea 
sure  ceased.  The  easy  condition  too,  upon  which  lands  on 
the  frontiers  were  conveyed  to  foreigners,  were  so  changed, 
that  little  inducement  was  held  out  to  them  to  leave  their 
native  country  ;  and  the  blight  prospect  of  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio  peopled  and  cultivated,  which  appeared  at  the  peace 
of  '63,  faded  away,  and  the  gloom  of  the  interminable  for 
est  alone  met  the  eye.  So  much  did  these  obstructions 
check  immigration,  that  when  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
broke  out,  the  current  had  quite  ceased  to  flow  hitherward. 
Bute,  however,  was  right  in  his  conjecture  about  the  inde 
pendent  spirit  which  the  German  immigrants  would  evince, 
if  occasion  should  offer,  for  when  the  Revolution  broke 
forth,  almost  the  entire  German  population,  numbering 
about  two  hundred  thousand,  took  side  with  the  patriots. 

VIII.  He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  re 
fusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary  powers. 
Under  the  act  already  referred  to,  "  For  the  better  regu 
lation  of  the  government  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  adopted 
in  March,  1774,  the  judiciary  powers  were  taken  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  people.  The  judges  were  appointed  by 
the  Crown,  were  subject  to  its  will,  and  depended  upon 
it  for  the  emoluments  of  office.  These  emoluments,  too, 
were  paid  to  them  out  of  moneys  extracted  from  the 
people  of  the  colonies  by  the  "Commissioners  of  Cus 
toms,"  in  the  form  of  duties  ;  and,  therefore,  the  judges 
were  more  obnoxious  to  the  hate  and  contempt  of  the 
colonists.  They  were  also,  by  this  act,  deprived,  in  most 
cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury,  and  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  people  were  placed  in  the  custody  of  the 


HISTORICAL!  VT    CONSIDERED.  281 

myrmidons  of  royalty.  The  "  administration  of  justice  " 
was  effectually  obstructed,  and  the  very  rights  which  the 
people  of  England  so  manfully  asserted,  and  successfully 
defended  in  the  revolution  of  1688,  were  trampled  under 
foot.  In  other  colonies,  too,  the  administration  of  justice 
was  so  obstructed  by  the  interference  of  the  royal  govern 
ors,  that  it  had  but  the  semblance  of  existence  left.  The 
people  tried  every  honorable  means,  by  petitions  to  the 
King,  addresses  to  the  parliament,  and  votes  in  legislative 
assemblies  and  in  popular  conventions,  to  have  laws 
passed,  either  in  the  provincial  legislature,  or  in  the  su 
preme  national  council,  for  "  establishing  judiciary  pow 
ers  ;"  but  their  efforts  were  ineffectual.  Power  stood  in 
the  place  of  right,  and  exercised  authority ;  and  under 
the  goad  ings  of  a  system  of  wrong  and  oppression,  the 
people  resorted  to  arms  to  "  right  themselves  by  abol 
ishing  the  forms,"  and  in  prostrating  the  power  of  a 
monarchy  become  odious  though  the  mal-administration 
of  weak  or  wicked  ministers. 

IX.  He  lias  made  judges  dependent  on  Ms  will  alone  for 
the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  payment 
of  their  salaries. 

In  1773,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  British  Parliament 
on  motion  of  Lord  North,  to  make  the  governors  and 
judges  quite  independent  of  those  they  governed,  by 
paying  their  salaries  directly  from  the  National  Treasury, 
instead  of  making  them  dependent  upon  the  appropria 
tions  of  the  Colonial  Assemblies  for  that  purpose.  This 
measure,  making  the  public  servants  in  the  colonies 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  Crown  for  support,  and  inde 
pendent  of  the  people,  was  calculated  to  make  them 
pliant  instruments  in  the  hands  of  their  masters  —  ready 
at  all  times  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  King  and  his  coun 
cil  The  various  Colonial  Assemblies  strongly  protested 


2S2  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

against  the  measure  ;  and  out  of  the  excitement  and 
just  alarm  which  followed,  that  mighty  lever  of  the 
revolution,  the  system  of  Committees  of  Correspondence, 
was  brought  forth  and  vigorously  applied. 

Early  in  1774,  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  required 
the  judges  in  that  colony  to  state  explicitly  whether  they 
intended  to  receive  their  salaries  from  the  Crown.  Chief 
Justice  Oliver  declared  that  to  be  his  intention,  and  the 
Assembly  proceeded  at  once  to  impeach  him.  By  a  vote 
of  ninety-six  to  nine,  he  was  declared  to  be  obnoxious  to 
the  people  of  the  colony,  and  a  petition  to  the  Go\ernoi 
for  his  removal  was  adopted.  The  Governor  refused 
compliance  with  this  expressed  will  of  the  people,  and 
this  was  presumptive  evidence  that  the  Governor,  too. 
intended  to  receive  his  salary  from  the  Crown.  This 
matter  produced  much  irritation,  and  just  cause  for  bitter 
complaint  on  the  part  of  the  colonists.  The  Governor 
assuming  the  right  to  keep  a  judge  in  his  seat,  contrary 
to  the  wishes  of  the  people,  and  the  Crown  paying  his 
salary,  made  him  dependent  upon  the  will  of  the  King 
alone  for  tlue  tenure  of  his  office,  and  the  amount  and 
payment  of  his  emoluments." 

X.  lie  has    erected  a    multitude  of  new  offices ,  and  sent 

hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people,  and  eat 

out  their  substance. 

The  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1765,  called  for  the 
establishment  of  a  new  officer  in  every  sea-port  town,  who 
was  entitled  Stamp  Master.  It  was  his  business  to  dis 
pose  of  the  stamps  and  collect  the  revenue  accruing  from 
the  same. 

In  17GG,  an  act  was  passed  for  imposing  rates  and 
duties,  payable  in  the  colonies.  This  act  called  for  the 
creation  of  collectors  of  the  customs,  and  "  swarms  of  offi 
cers  "  were  brought  into  being. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  283 

In  1767  an  act  was  adopted  "to  enable  his  majesty 
to  put  the  customs,  and  other  duties  in  America,  under 
the  management  of  commissioners,"  &c.,  and  a  board  of 
commissioners  was  at  once  erected.  The  members  were 
paid  high  salaries,  besides  having  many  perquisites  —  all 
of  which  were  paid  by  the  colonists. 

In  1768  Admiralty  and  Vice-Admiralty  courts  were 
established  on  a  new  model,  and  an  increase  in  the  num 
ber  of  officers  was  made ;  and  thus,  by  act  after  act, 
each  receiving  the  royal  signature,  were  "  sent  hither 
swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and  eat  out  their 
substance." 

XI.  He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  peace,  standing 
armies,  without  the  consent  of  our  legislatures. 

After  the  "  Peace  of  Paris,"  in  1764,  when,  by  treaty, 
the  "  Seven  Years'  War  "  was  ended,  and  quiet  was  for 
a  time  restored  in  both  Europe  and  America,  Great 
Britain,  instead  of  withdrawing  her  regular  troops  from 
America,  left  quite  a  large  number  here,  and  required 
the  colonists  to  contribute  to  their  support.  On  the  sur 
face  of  things,  there  appeared  no  reason  for  this  "  stand 
ing  army  in  time  of  peace  ;"  but  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  as  we  have  before  said,  that  growing  jealousy  of 
the  power  and  independent  feeling  of  the  colonists,  and 
an  already  conceived  design  to  tax  the  colonies  with 
out  their  consent,  were  the  true  cause  of  the  presence 
of  armed  men  among  a  peaceful  people.  They  were 
doubtless  intended  to  suppress  democracy  and  republican 
independence,  and  to  enforce  every  revenue,  law,  however 
arbitrary  and  unjust  soever  it  might  be.  The  colonists 
felt  this,  and  hence  the  presence  of  the  British  troops 
was  always  a  cause  for  irritation,  and  unnppeased  dis 
content.  And,  finally,  when  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
began  openly  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  British 


254       THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

power,  a  large  standing  army  was  quartered  in  its  capi 
tal,  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  awe  them  into  submis 
sion  to  a  tyrant's  will. 

XII.  He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of, 
and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

In  the  spring  of  1774,  General  Gage,  who  was  the 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  British  forces  in  America, 
was  appointed  Governor  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  the  first 
civil  duty  he  was  called  upon  to  perform  was  to  carry 
into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill.  To 
sustain  arid  enforce  this  harsh  measure,  he  introduced 
two  regiments  of  troops  into  Boston  ;  and  soon  afterward 
they  were  reinforced  by  several  regiments  from  Halifax, 
Quebec,  New  York,  and  Ireland.  By  an  order  of  the 
King,  the  authority  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  under 
him,  the  brigadier-generals,  was  rendered  supreme  in 
all  civil  governments  in  America.  This,  be  it  remem 
bered,  was  in  a  time  of  peace  ;  and  thus  an  uncontrolled 
military  power  was  vested  in  officers  not  known  as  civil 
functionaries  to  the  constitution  of  any  colony.  The  mili 
tary  was  rendered  "  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the 
civil  power." 

XIII.  He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a 
jurisdiction  foreign  to  our  constitution,  and  unacknow 
ledged  by  our  laws,  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of 
pretended  legislation. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  acts,  obnoxious  to  this 
serious  charge,  was  the  establishment  by  act  of  Parlia 
ment,  under  the  sanction  of  the  King,  of  a  Board  of 
Trade  in  the  colonies,  independent  of  colonial  legislation; 
and  the  creation  of  resident  commissioners  of  customs,  to 
enforce  strictly  the  revenue  laws.  This  act  was  passed 
in  July,  176^  :  and  when  the  news  of  its  adoption 


HIST  >RIC.U.i,Y    COXSIDEKED.  285 

reached  America,  it  produced  a  perfect  tornado  of  in 
dignation  throughout  the  Colonies.  The  people  per 
ceived  clearly  that  they  were  now  not  only  to  be  sub 
jected  -o  the  annoyance  of  unqualified  assertions  that  Par 
liament  had  "  a  right  to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases 
whatsoever,"  but  that  they  were  to  be  subject  to  the  actual 
control  of  persons  appointed  to  carry  out  these  principles 
avowed  by  the  British  Ministry. 

The  establishment  of  this  Board  of  Trade  in  the 
colonies,  unto  whom  was  given  power  to  regulate  the 
customs  and  secure  the  revenue  —  the  modeling  of  the 
admiralty  courts  upon  a  basis  which  quite  excluded  trial 
by  jury  therein  —  and  the  supremacy  given  to  the  military 
power  in  1774,  as  alluded  to  in  the  next  preceding 
charge  —  are  all  evidences  that  prove  the  truth  and  jus 
tice  of  this  charge. 

The  Commissioners  of  Customs  arrived  in  May,  1768, 
and  at  Boston  they  entered  vigorously  upon  their  duties  ; 
and  the  riots  which  ensued  on  the  seizure  by  them  of 
a  vessel  belonging  to  John  Hancock,  attest  the  deep 
feeling  of  resistance  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  a 
"jurisdiction  foreign  to  their  constitution,  and  unac 
knowledged  by  their  laws." 

The  powers  which  the  Commissioners  possessed,  in 
connexion  with  the  Board  of  Trade,  in  the  appointment 
of  an  indefinite  number  of  subordinates,  and  in  con 
trolling  legislative  action,  were  dangerous  to  the  liberties 
of  the  people  ;  for  they  claimed  the  right  of  adjudicating 
in  all  matters  connected  with  the  customs.  The  jurisdic 
tion,  too,  of  the  newly- modeled  Courts  of  Admiralty, 
where,  in  many  cases,  a  trial  by  jury  was  denied,  was 
"  foreign  to  their  constitution,  and  unacknowledged  by 
their  laws." 

When,  in  1774,  the  charter  of  Massachusetts  was 
nltered,  the  character  of  the  colonial  council  wa? 


286  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

changed.  Before  that  time,  the  members  of  the  council, 
(answering  to  our  senate,)  were  chosen  by  the  general 
assembly,  but,  in  the  alteration,  it  was  provided  that 
after  the  first  of  August  of  that  year  they  should  be* 
chosen  by  the  King,  to  consist  of  not  more  than  thirty- 
six,  nor  less  than  twelve  ;  and  to  hold  their  office  during 
his  pleasure.  To  the  Governor  was  given  almost  unlim 
ited  power,  and  the  people  were  subjected  to  "  a  juris 
diction  foreign  to  their  constitution,"  and  the  assent  of 
the  King  was  given  to  the  acts  of  "pretended  legisla 
tion,"  made  by  these  crown-chosen  senators. 

XIV.  For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among 
us. 

In  1767,  the  patriotic  movements  of  the  colonists  so 
alarmed  the  British  ministry,  that  they  determined  to 
repress  the  republican  feeling  by  force,  if  necessary.  For 
this  purpose,  Lord  Hillsborough  sent  a  secret  letter  to 
General  Gage,  then  in  Halifax,  telling  him  that  it  was  the 
King's  pleasure  that  he  should  send  one  regiment,  or 
more,  to  Boston  to  assist  the  civil  magistrate  and  the  offi 
cers  of  revenue.  About  the  same  time,  Governor  Ber 
nard,  of  Massachusetts,  requested  General  Gage  to  send 
some  troops  to  Boston.  Seven  hundred  were  accordingly 
sent;  and  on  the  first  of  October,  1774,  they  landed, 
under  cover  of  the  cannon  of  armed  ships  in  the  harbor. 
The  people  refused  to  provide  quarters  for  them,  and 
they  were  quartered  in  the  State  House. 

This  unwise  movement,  which  greatly  exasperated  the 
people,  was  repeated  the  next  year,  not  only  at  Boston, 
but  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Charleston,  and  other 
sea-poit  towns.  At  the  beginning  of  1775,  Parliament 
voted  a  supply  of  ten  thousand  men  for  the  American 
service,  and  a  large  number  of  them  landed  at  Boston  in 
the  spring  of  that  year,  accompanied  by  Generals  Howe» 


HISTORICALLY     CONSIDERED.  28' 

Clinton,  and  Burgoyne.  The  tragedies  of,  Lexington 
and  Concord  soon  followed  ;  and  in  June,  the  blood  of 
American  patriots  was  profusely  spilt  upon  Bunker  Hill 
by  the  "large  bodies  of  armed  troops  quartered  among  us." 

XV.  For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  punish 
ment  for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the 
inhabitants  of  these  states. 

In  1768,  a  dispute  occurred  between  some  soldiers 
and  citizens  of  Annapolis,  in  Maryland,  and  two  of  the 
latter  were  killed  by  the  former.  As  they  were  marines, 
belonging  to  an  armed  vessel  lying  near,  they  were 
arraigned  before  the  court  of  admiralty  for  murder,  on 
the  complaint  of  some  of  the  citizens.  The  whole  affair 
assumed  the  character  of  a  solemn  farce,  so  far  as  justice 
was  concerned  ;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  the 
miscreants  were  acquitted. 

In  1771,  a  band  of  patriots,  called  the  "  Regulators," 
in  North  Carolina,  became  so  formidable,  and  were  so 
efficacious  in  stirring  the  people  to  rebellion,  that 
Governor  Tryon  of  that  state,  determined  to  destroy  or 
disperse  them.  Having  learned  that  they  had  gathered  in 
considerable  force  upon  the  Alamance  river,  he  proceeded 
thither  with  quite  a  large  body  of  regulars  and  militia. 
They  met  near  the  banks  of  that  stream,  and  a  parley 
ensued.  The  "Regulators,"  asking  only  for  redress  of 
grievances,  sought  to  negotiate,  but  Tryon  perempto 
rily  ordered  them  to  disperse.  This  they  refused  to  do, 
and  some  of  his  men,  thirsting  for  blood,  fired  upon  them  and 
killed  several.  These  soldiers  were  afterward  arraigned 
for  murder,  through  the  clamorous  demands  of  the  peo 
ple  ;  but,  after  a  mock  trial  had  been  acted,  they  were 
acquitted,  arid  thus  they  were  "  protected  from  punish 
ment  for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on  the 
inhabitants  of  these  states." 


288  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

XVI.  For   cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts   of  the 

world. 

The  narrow,  restrictive  policy  of  Great  Britain,  begun 
as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  had  a 
tendency  to  repress,  rather  than  to  encourage,  the  com 
merce  of  the  colonies.  Instead  of  allowing  them  free 
commercial  intercourse  with  other  nations,  the  home 
government  did  all  in  its  power  to  compel  the  colonists 
to  trade  exclusively  with  Great  Britain.*  In  1764,  the 
British  Minister,  under  a  pretence  of  preventing  illegal 
traffic  between  the  British  colonies  and  foreign  American 
possessions,  made  the  naval  commanders  revenue  offi 
cers —  directed  them  to  take  the  usual  custom-house 
oaths  —  and  to  conform  to  the  custom-house  regulations. 
By  this  means  a  profitable  trade  with  the  Spanish  and 
French  colonies  in  America,  which  the  colonists  had 
long  uninterruptedly  enjoyed,  (although  in  violation  of 
the  old  Navigation  Act,)  was  destroyed.  This  trade  was 
advantageous  to  Great  Britain  as  well  as  to  the  colonies ; 
but  as  the  enforcement  of  these  laws  was  a  part  of  the 
system  of  "  reforming  the  American  governments,"! 
began  by  Bute,  the  advantages  to  England  were  over 
looked.  Under  this  act,  many  seizures  of  vessels  were 
made  ;  and  the  Americans  were  so  distressed  and  har 
assed,  that  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  the  trade. 

Other  measures,  having  a  tendency  to  narrow  the  com 
merce  of  the  colonies  to  a  direct  trade  with  Great  Britain, 

*  The  Navigation  Act,  first  adopted  in  1651,  and  extended  in  1660,  declared  that 
no  merchandise  of  the  English  plantations  should  be  imported  into  England  in 
any  other  than  English  vessels.  There  were  also  restrictive  laws  respecting 
the  manufactures  of  the  colonies,  and  their  domestic  commerce.  For  the  benefit 
of  English  manufacturers,  the  colonists  were  forbidden  to  export,  or  introduce 
from  one  colony  into  another,  hats  and  woollens  of  domestic  manufacture;  and 
hatters  were  forbidden  to  have,  at  one  time,  more  than  two  apprentices.  They 
were  not  allowed  to  import  sugar,  rum,  and  molasses,  without  paying  an  exor 
bitant  duty,  and  forbade  the  erection  of  certain  iron  works. 

t  See  Gordon,  vd.  i.,  p.  108. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  289 

were  adopted;  and  finally,  in  1775,  among  the  acts  pro 
jected  by  Lord  North  for  punishing  the  colonies,  was  one 
tor  effectually  stopping  the  commerce  of  New  England 
with  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
also  fishing  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  This 
restrictive  act,  first  applied  to  the  New  England  colo 
nies,  was  afterward  extended  to  all  the  others,  and  thus, 
as  far  as  parliamentary  enactments  could  effect  it,  "  trade 
with  all  parts  of  the  world  "  was  cut  off. 

XVII.  For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent. 

George  Grenville,  an  honest  but  short-sighted  states 
man,  became  the  Prime  Minister,  or  "  First  Lord  of  the 
Treasury,"  of  Great  Britain,  in  1764.  He  found  the 
treasury  drained  empty  by  the  vampire  appetite  of  war, 
and  his  first  care  was  to  devise  means  to  replenish  it.' 
Believing  that  the  Crown  had  an  unquestionable  right  to 
tax  its  colonies,  and  perceiving  the  capacity  of  the 
Americans  to  pay  a  tax  if  levied,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  a  project  for  replenishing  the  treasury,  by  establishing 
new  duties  upon  all  foreign  goods  imported  by  the 
Ameiicans.  They  were  already  submitting  to  the  taxes, 
in  the  shape  of  duties,  which  the  Navigation  Act,  and 
the  Sugar  Act,  imposed ;  and  when  this  new  scheme  was 
proposed  to  Parliament,  the  people  were  at  once  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  their  danger  —  they  saw  clearly  the  design 
of  the  Biitish  Ministry  to  impose  tax  upon  tax,  as  long  as 
forbearance  would  allow  it.  Action  on  the  subject  was 
taken  in  the  colonial  assemblies,  and  one  sentiment 
seemed  to  prevail,  —  a  denial  of  the  right  of  Great  Britain 
to  tax  its  colonies  without  their  consent.  The  fundamental 
principle  of  a  free  government,  that  "  Taxation  and 
equitable  representation  are  inseparable"  was  boldly 
proclaimed,  and  petitions  and  remonstrances  from  tha 
13 


290  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

colonies  were  transmitted  to  the  King  and  Parliament. 
But  the  King,  instead  of  heeding  these  remonstrances, 
asserted  his  right  to  tax  the  colonies,  in  his  speech  to 
Parliament  at  the  opening  in  January,  1765,  and  recom 
mended  the  adoption  of  Grenville's  measures.  Em 
boldened  by  this,  the  Minister  proposed  his  famous 
Stamp  Act  in  February,  and  in  March  it  became  a  law, 
and  received  the  royal  signature. 

The  ferment  which  this  act  produced  in  America,  and 
the  violent  opposition  it  met  with  from  Pitt,  and  other 
leading  minds  in  Parliament,  caused  its  repeal  in  March 
1766.  The  Repeal  Act,  however,  was  accompanied  by 
a  Declaratory  Act,  which  contained  the  germ  of  other 
oppressions,  It  affirmed  that  Parliament  had  power  to 
bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever.  Although  it  was 
thought  expedient  to  repeal  the  Stamp  Act,  yet  the  De 
claratory  Act  asserted  the  correctness  of  the  doctrine  it 
contained  and  exhibited  practically.* 

Again  in  1767,  another  tax  was  imposed  in  the  shape  of 
duties  upon  glass,  paper,  painter's  colors,  and  tea.  Here 
again  taxes  were  imposed  upon  us  "  without  our  con 
sent."  The  act  was  strongly  condemned  throughout  the 
colonies,  and  the  British  ministry  perceiving  a  tendency 
toward  open  rebellion  in  America,  repealed  this  apt 
also,  excepting  the  duty  upon  tea.  Finally,  in  1773, 
Lord  North  attempted  to  draw  a  revenue  from  America 
by  imposing  additional  duties  upon  tea  ;  but  it  was  met  by 
firm  opposition,  and  the  celebrated  Boston  Tea  Riot  en 
sued.  We  might  cite  other  proofs  of  the  truth  of  this 
charge,  but  these  may  suffice. 

*  As  the  Stamp  Act  was  the  first  and  chief  cause  which  fully  aroused  the 
ccionists  to  a  sense  of  the  danger  of  enslavement  by  the  mother  country,  and 
awakered  the  first  notes  of  universal  alarm  that  led  to  a  general  union  of  tne 
Anglo-Americans  in  defence  of  their  inalienable  rights,  and  resulted  finally  ;n 
the  adoption  of  a  Declaration  of  Independence,  we  have  inserted  it  in  d«teil  in 
the  Appendix  to  this  work- 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  291 

XVIII.  For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of 
trial  by  jury. 

When  the  British  ministry  perceived  that  their  scheme 
for  taxing  the  colonies  without  their  consent,  met  with  de 
termined  opposition,  and  the  Commissioners  of  Customs, 
in  1768,  were  obliged  to  flee  for  personal  safety  from 
Boston  to  Castle  William,  they  so  modified  the  Courts 
of  Admiralty  in  America,  as  to  make  them  powerful  aids 
to  these  Commissione-*,  and  a  strong  right  arm  of  op 
pression.  An  act  was  passed,  in  which  it  was  ordained 
"  that  whenever  offences  should  be  committed  in  the 
colonies  against  particular  acts,  imposing  various  duties 
and  restrictions  upon  trade,  the  prosecutor  might  bring 
his  action  for  penalties  in  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  ;"  by 
which  means  the  subject  lost  the  advantage  of  being  tried 
"  by  an  honest,  uninfluenced  jury  of  the  vicinage,  and 
was  subjected  to  the  sad  necessity  of  being  judged  by  a 
single  man,  a  creature  of  the  crown,  and  according  to  the 
course  of  law,  which  exempted  the  prosecutor  from  the 
trouble  of  proving  his  accusation,  and  obliged  the  defender 
either  to  evince  his  innocence,  or  suffer."* 

XIX.  For  transporting  us  beyond  seas   to  be  tried  for  pre 
tended  offences. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  April,  1774,  Lord  North  introduced 
a  bill  in  Parliament,  entitled  "  A  bill  for  the  impartial  ad 
ministration  of  justice  in  the  cases  of  persons  questioned 
for  any  acts  done  by  them  in  the  execution  of  the  laws,  or 
for  the  suppression  of  riots  and  tumults  in  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England."  This  bill  provided 
that  in  case  any  person  indicted  for  murder  in  that  prov 
ince,  or  any  other  capital  offence,  or  any  indictment  for 
riot,  resistance  of  the  magistrate,  or  impeding  the  revenue 

*  Address  of  the  first  continental  congress,  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 


J592  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

laws  in  the  smallest  degree,  he  might,  at  the  option  of  the 
Governor,  or,  in  his  absence,  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor, 
be  taken  to  another  colony,  or  transported  to  Great  Britain, 
for  trial,  a  thousand  leagues  from  his  friends,  and  amidst 
his  enemies. 

The  arguments  used  by  Lord  North  in  favor  of  the  mea 
sure,  had  very  little  foundation  in  either  truth  or  justice, 
and  the  bill  met  with  violent  opposition  in  parliament. 
The  minister  seemed  to  be  actuated  more  by  a  spirit  of 
retaliation,  than  by  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  such 
a  measure.  "  We  must  show  the  Americans,"  said  he, 
''  that  we  will  no  longer  sit  quietly  under  their  insults  ; 
and  also,  that  even  when  roused,  our  measures  are  not 
cruel  or  vindictive,  but  necessary  and  efficacious."  Colo 
nel  Barre,  who,  from  the  first  commencement  of  troubles 
with  America,  was  the  fast  friend  of  the  colonists,  de 
nounced  the  bill  in  unmeasured  terms,  as  big  with  misery, 
and  pregnant  with  danger  to  the  British  Empire.  "  This," 
said  he,  "  is  indeed  the  most  extraordinary  resolution 
that  was  ever  heard  in  the  Parliament  of  England.  It 
offers  new  encouragement  to  military  insolence,  already 
so  insupportable.  By  this  law,  the  Americans  are  de 
prived  of  a  light  which  belongs  to  every  human  creature, 
that  of  demanding  justice  before  a  tribunal  composed  of 
impartial  judges.  Even  Captain  Preston,*  who,  in  their 
own  city  of  Boston,  had  shed  the  blood  of  cilizens,  found 
among  them  a  fair  trial,  and  equitable  judges."  Alder 
man  Sawbridge,  another  warm  friend  of  the  Americans, 
in  Parliament,  also  denounced  the  bill,  not  only  as  un 
necessary  and  ridiculous,  but  unjust  and  cruel.  Ho 
asserted  that  witnesses  against  the  crown  could  never  be 
brought  over  to  England;  that  the  Act  was  meant  to  en 
slave  the*Americans  ;  and  he  expressed  the  arJent  hcpe 

* 

*  See  biography  of  John  Adams. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  293 

that  the  Americans  would  not  admit  of  the  execution  of 
any  of  these  destructive  bills,*  but  nobly  refuse  them  all. 
"If they  do  not,"  said  he,  "they  are  the  most  abject 
slaves  upon  earth,  and  nothing  the  minister  can  do  is  base 
enough  for  them." 

Notwithstanding  the  manifest  inexpediency  of  such  a 
measure,  the  already  irritated  feeling  of  the  colonists, 
and  the  solemn  warning  of  sound  statesmen  in  both 
Houses  of  Parliament,  the  bill  was  passed  by  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  to  forty-four,  in  the  Commons,  and 
forty-nine  to  twelve  in  the  House  of  Lords.  The  king 
signed  the  bill,  and  it  was  thus  decreed  that  Americans 
might  be  "  transported  beyond  the  seas,  to  be  tried  for 
pretended  offences"  or  real  crime. 

XX  For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a 
neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbitrary 
government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as  to  render 
it  at  once  an  example  and  Jit  instrument  for  introducing 
the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  the  bill  for 
changing  the  government  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  bill 
providing  for  the  transportation  of  accused  persons  to 
England  for  trial,  the  British  ministry  were  evidently 
alarmed  at  the  fury  of  the  whirlwind  they  themselves 
had  raised  ;  and  they  doubtless  had  a  presentiment  of  the 
coming  rebellion  which  their  own  cruel  measures  had 
engendered  and  ripened.  They  therefore  thought  it  pru 
dent  to  take  steps  in  time  to  secure  such  a  footing  in 
America  as  should  enable  them  to  breast  successfully  the 
gathering  storm.  Accordingly  a  bill  was  introduced  in 
the  House  of  Lords  in  May,  1774,  "  for  making  more  ef- 

*    *  The  Boston  Port  Bill ;  the  bill  for  altering,  or  rather  for  polishing,  the  con 
stitution  of  Massachusetts  ;  and  the  bill  under  consideration. 


294  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

fectual  provision  for  the  government  of  the  province  of 
Quebec,  in  North  America." 

This  bill  proposed  the  establishment,  in  Canada,  of  a 
Legislative  Council,  invested  with  all  powers,  except  that 
of  levying  taxes.  It  was  provided  that  its  members  should 
be  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  continue  in  authority 
during  its  pleasure  ;  that  Canadian  subjects,  professing  the 
Catholic  faith,  might  be  called  to  sit  in  the  Council ;  that 
the  Catholic  clergy,  with  the  exception  of  the  regular  or 
ders,  should  be  secured  in  their  possessions  and  of  their 
tithes,  from  all  those  who  professed  their  religion ;  that 
the  French  laws,  without  jury,  should  be  re-established, 
preserving,  however,  the  English  laws,  with  trial  by  jury, 
in  criminal  cases.  It  was  also  added,  in  order  to  furnish 
the  ministers  with  a  larger  scope  for  their  designs,  that 
the  limits  of  Canada  should  be  extended,  so  as  to  embrace 
the  territory  situated  between  the  lakes,  and  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  rivers.* 

This  was  a  liberal  concession  to  the  people  of  Canada, 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  French,  and  but  a  small  portion 
of  them  Protestants.f  The  nobility  and  clergy  had  fre 
quently  complained  of  the  curtailment  of  their  privileges, 
and  maintained  that  they  were  better  off  under  the  old 
French  rule  previous  to  1763,  than  now.  The  measure 
proposed  was  well  calculated  to  quiet  all  discontent  in 
Canada,  and  make  the  people  loyal.  By  such  a  result. 


*  Soon  after  the  introduction  of  this  bill,  Thomas  and  John  Penn,  son  and  grand 
son  of  William  Penn,  put  in  a  remonstrance  against  the  boundary  proposition,  as 
it  contemplated  an  encroachment  upon  their  territory,  they  being  the  proprieta 
ries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  in  Dela 
ware.  Burke,  also,  who  was  then  the  agent  for  New  York,  contended  against  the 
boundary  proposition,  because  it  encroached  upon  the  boundary  line  of  that 
Colony. 

t  General  Carleton,  then  Governor  of  Canada,  asserted,  during  his  examination 
before  Parliament,  that  there  were  then  in  that  province  only  about  three  hun 
dred  and  sixty  Protestants,  besides  women  and  childrrn ;  while  there  were  ane 
hundi-ed  and  fifty  thousand  Roman  Catholics. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED. 

a  place  would  be  secured  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  refractory  Colonies,  where  troops  and  munitions  of 
war  might  be  landed,  and  an  overwhelming  force  be  con 
centrated,  ready  at  a  moment's  warning  to  march  into 
the  territory  of,  and  subdue,  the  rebellious  Americans. 
This  was  doubtless  the  ulterior  design  of  the  ministry  in 
offering  these  concessions,  and  the  eagle  vision  of  Colonel 
Barre  plainly  perceived  it.  In  the  debate  on  the  bill,  he 
remarked,  "  A  very  extraordinary  indulgence  is  given  to 
the  inhabitants  of  this  province,  and  one  calculated  to  gain 
the  hearts  and  affections  of  these  people.  To  this  I  can 
not  object  if  it  is  to  be  applied  to  good  purposes ;  but  if 
you  are  about  to  raise  a  Popish  army  to  serve  in  the  Colo- 
?iies,  from  this  time  all  hope  of  peace  in  America  will  be 
destroyed." 

The  bill  was  so  opposed  to  the  religious  and  national 
prejudices  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  of  Great 
Britain,  that  it  met  with  violent  opposition  both  in  and 
out  of  Parliament,  yet  it  passed  by  a  large  majority,  and 
on  the  twenty-first  of  June  it  became  a  law  by  receiving 
the  royal  signature. 

XXI,  For  faking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most 
'valuable  laws,  and  altering ,  fundamentally ,  the  forms  of 
our  governments. 

While  the  Boston  Port  Bill  was  before  the  Lords,  Lord 
North,  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  March,  1774,  in  a 
Committee  of  the  whole  Lower  House,  brought  in  a  bill 
"for  the  better  regulating  of  the  government  in  the  pro 
vince  of  Massachusetts  Bay."  It  provided  for  an  altera 
tion  in  the  Constitution  of  that  province  as  it  stood  upon 
the  charter  of  William  III.  By  this  act  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  were,  without  a  hearing,  deprived  of  some 
of  the  most  important  rights  and  privileges  secured  to 
by  their  charter  ;  rights  which  they  had  enjoyed 


THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

from  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony.  The  members  of 
the  Council,  heretofore  chosen  under  the  charter,  by  the 
General  Assembly,  were,  after  the  first  of  August  of  that 
year,  to  be  chosen  by  the  King  ;  to  consist  of  riot  more  than 
thirty-six,  and  not  less  than  twelve;  and  to  hold  their 
office  during  his  pleasure.  After  the  first  of  July  the 
governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  and  remove,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Council,  all  judges  of  the  inferior  Courts 
of  Common  Pleas,  Commissioners  of  Oyer  and  Terminer 
the  Attorney  General,  Provosts,  Marshals,  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  and  other  officers  belonging  to  the  Council  and 
courts  of  justice ;  and  was  also  empowered  to  appoint 
sheriffs  without  the  consent  of  the  Council,  but  not  to 
remove  them  without  their  consent. 

The  ministers  did  not  confine  themselves  to  these  fun 
damental  alterations  in  the  charter  of  that  province,  but 
materially  altered  or  totally  repealed  the  laws  relating  to 
town  meetings,  and  the  election  of  jurors ;  laws  which 
had  been  in  existence  from  the  commencement  of  the 
government,  and  deemed  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
colony.  The  right  of  selecting  jurors  by  the  inhabitants 
and  freeholders  of  the  several  towns,  was  taken  from 
them,  and  all  jurors  were  by  this  act,  to  be  summoned 
and  returned  by  the  sheriffs.* 

This  bill  was  zealously  opposed  by  the  friends  of 
America  in  the  British  House  of  Commons.  Barre  and 
Burke,  the  leaders  of  this  party,  opposed  it  with  all  their 
strength  of  mind  and  eloquence  of  speech.  "  What," 
said  the  latter,  "  can  the  Americans  believe  but  that  Eng 
land  wishes  to  despoil  them  of  all  liberty,  of  all  franchises  ; 
and  by  the  destruction  of  their  charters  to  reduce  them 
to  a  state  of  the  most  abject  slavery  ]  As  the  Americans 
are  no  less  ardently  attached  to  liberty  than  the  English 

*  Pitkin's  Political  and  Civil  History  of  the  United  States,  rol  1.  p.  26$, 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  297 

themselves,  can  it  ever  be  hoped  they  will  submit  to  such 
exorbitant  usurpation:  to  such  portentous  resolutions  1" 
Governor  Pownall,  too,  lifted  up  the  voice  of  warning, 
and  plainly  told  the  ministers  that  their  measures  would 
be  resisted,  not  only  by  the  will  and"  sentiment  of  the 
whole  people,  but  probably  by  force  of  arms.  But  a 
false  security  shut  the  ears  of  the  British  ministry  against 
all  of  these  portentous  warnings,  and  the  British  legisla 
tors  seemed  to  have  lost  all  sense  of  right  and  equity. 
The  bill  was  adopted  by  an  overwhelming  majority — two 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  against  sixty-four  in  the  Com 
mons,  and  ninety-two  against  twenty  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  The  King  gave  the  bill  his  royal  signature,  and 
thus  he  "  combined  with  others  for  taking  away  our 
charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  altering 
fundamentally,  the  forms  of  our  governments." 

XXII.  For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  decla 
ring  themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us 
in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

By  the  act  described  in  the  next  preceding  charge,  enti 
tled  "  For  the  better  regulation  of  government  in  the  pro 
vince  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  the  colonial  legislature  was 
virtually  and  actually  "  suspended;"  for,  according  to  the 
charter  under  which  the  people  had  always  lived  and 
been  governed,  they  recognised  no  legislature  but  one 
of  their  own  free  choice  and  election.  By  that  act,  the 
members  of  the  council  were  chosen  by  the  King,  and  a 
free  legislature  was  in  fact  suspended,  and  a  declaration 
virtually  made  that  the  King  and  Parliament  were  "  in 
vested  with  power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever."  In  1767  the  powers  of  the  Legislature  of  New 
York  were  suspended  indefinitely,  because  the  Assembly 
refused  to  furnish  the  soldiers,  quartered  among  them,  with 
certain  articles  mentioned  in  a  clause  in  the  Mutiny  Act, 
13* 


298       'I  UK  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE 

In  the  language  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by 
such  an  act  of  suspension  of  legislative  functions,  those 
"  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  returned  to  the  people 
at  large  for  their  exercise;"  but  the  King  and  his  council, 
by  both  word  and  deed,  claimed  that  those  powers  return 
ed  to,  and  were  vested  in,  the  Crown,  and  thus  asserted  the 
principle,  that  it  in  connexion  with  the  Council,  was 
invested  with  power  to  legislate  for  the  colonies  "  in  all 
cases  whatsoever." 

Lord  Dunmore,  after  dissolving  the  Assembly  of  Vir 
ginia  about  the  beginning  of  1775,  assumed  the  same 
right,  and  issued  proclamations  to  the  people,  calling  upon 
them  to  perform  certain  duties,  which  had  not  been  re 
quired  of  them  by  their  own  representatives  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses. 

XXIII.  He  lias  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring 
us  out  of  Jiis  protection,  and  waging  luar  against  us. 
As  early  as  the  meeting  of  Parliament  in  1774,  the 
King,  in  his  address  from  the  throne,  spoke  of  the  colo 
nies  as  in  a  state  of  almost  open  rebellion,  and  assured 
Parliament  that  he  should  employ  vigorous  efforts  to  sup 
press  the  unfolding  insurrection.  Again,  in  February, 
1775,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  Commons,  declaring  his 
American  subjects  to  be  in  a  state  of  open  rebellion,  and 
informing  them  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  augment  the 
naval  and  military  force  in  the  colonies.  Toward  the 
close  of  1775,  he  gave  his  assent  to  an  agreement,  with 
several  German  princes,  to  send  armies  to  America  to 
assist  in  crushing  his  rebellious  subjects ;  and  he  sanc 
tioned  the  barbarous  acts  of  his  governors,  who  sought 
to  engage  the  Indian  tribes  in  a  warfare  upon  the  colonists. 
In  these  measures,  he  personally  declared  us  "  out  Df 
his  protection,"  and  waged  war  against  them. 

Through  his  representative?,  his  goveniors  of  colonies 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  299 

tie,  in  several  instances,  "  abdicated  government  hero." 
Lord  Dunmore,  Governor  of  Virginia,  fearing  the  just 
resentment  of  the  people,  "  abdicated  government,"  by 
fleeing  on  board  the  Fowey  ship  of  war.  Tryon,  of 
New  York,  "  abdicated  government,"  when,  for  fear  of 
the  resentment  of  the  patriots,  he  fled  on  board  a  Halifax 
packet  ship  ;  and  Governor  Martin,  of  North  Carolina, 
also  took  refuge  on  board  a  British  ship  of  war.  Lord 
William  Campbell,  Governor  of  South  Carolina,  also 
"  abdicated  government,"  by  withdrawing  from  the 
colony,  and  carrying  off  with  him  the  royal  seals  and  the 
instructions  to  governors  ;  and  he  "  waged  war  "  against 
the  people,  by  acting  in  concert  with  Sir  Peter  Parker 
and  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  in  besieging  Charleston.  In 
various  ways,  -both  personally  and  by  representatives,  did 
King  George  "  abdicate  government  here,"  and  waged  a 
"  cruel  war  against  us." 

XXIV.  He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts, 

burnt    our    towns,    and    destroyed    t7ie    lives    of   our 

people. 

In  1764,  when  the  provisions  of  the  Navigation  Act 
were  strictly  enforced,  and  the  commanders  of  vessels 
were  invested  with  the  power  of  custom-house  officers  to 
enforce  the  revenue  laws  under  that  act,  a  great  many 
American  vessels  were  seized,  by  which  much  distress 
was  produced.  Although  this  was  done  under  the  sanc 
tion  of  written  law,  yet  it  was  nothing  more,  in  the  mode 
of  enforcing  the  law,  than  "  plundering  our  seas." 

In  April,  1775,  the  "lives  of  our  people"  were 
destroyed  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  by  an  expedition 
sent  out  by  Governor  Gage,  of  Massachusetts.  In  June 
of  that  year,  he  "  burnt  our  towns,"  and  destroyed  the 
"lives  of  our  people,"  by  his  troops  setting  fire  to 
Charlestown,  and  attacking  and  slaying  our  people  iipor. 


300  THE    DECLARATION    OF     INDEPENDENCE 

Breed's,  and  Bunker  Hill ;  and  shortly  afterward,  the 
unprotected  town  of  Bristol,  in  Rhode  Island,  was  can 
nonaded,  because  the  people  refused  to  comply  with  an 
order  from  the  commander  of  the  vessels  that  appeared 
before  it,  t3  supply  him  with  three  hundred  sheep. 

In  the  autumn  of  1775,  several  royal  cruisers  ravag 
ing  the  coasts  of  New  England.  Captain  Wallace,  with 
the  man-of-war,  Rose,  and  two  others,  pursued  a  vessel 
which  took  shelter  in  the  port  of  Stonington,  Connecticut. 
He  entered  the  harbor,  and  opened  a  fire  upon  the  town, 
which  he  kept  up  nearly  a  whole  day.  He  Jdlled  two 
men,  and  carried  off  some  vessels.  This  was  the  same 
Captain  (Sir  James)  "Wallace  who  afterward  commanded 
the  flying  squadron  of  small  vessels  that  made  a  preda 
tory  expedition  up  the  Hudson  river,  and,  in  connection 
with  Colonel  Vaughan  of  the  land  force,  burnt  Esopus, 
or  Kingston,  in  Ulster  county. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  October,  Captain  Mowatt,  with  a 
few  armed  vessels,  burnt  the  town  of  Falmouth,  upon  the 
north-eastern  coast  of  Massachusetts ;  and  he  asserted 
that  he  had  orders  to  destroy,  by  fire,  all  the  sea-port 
towns  from  Boston  to  Halifax. 

In  December,  1775,  Governor  Dunmore,  of  Virginia, 
having  been  obliged  to  take  refuge  on  board  the  Fowey, 
a  British  armed  vessel  at  Norfolk,  tried  every  means 
in  his  power  to  bring  the  people  to  subjection  under  him. 
Finally,  the  frigate  Liverpool  arrived,  and  the  Governor 
felt  quite  strong  in  his  resources,  believing,  that  with  the 
two  vessels  and  the  armed  force  of  tories  and  blacks 
which  he  had  collected  on  board,  he  should  be  able  to 
regain  his  lost  power.  He  sent  a  peremptory  order  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Norfolk  to  supply  the  vessels  with 
provisions.  The  order  was  of  course  disobeyed  ;  and  on 
the  first  of  January,  1776,  the  two  vessels  opened  a 
destructive  cannonading  upon  the  town.  At  the  same 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  301 

time,  some  marines  were  landed,  who  set  fire  to  the  town, 
and  reduced  it  to  ashes. 

In  June,  1776,  while  the  proposition  of  independence 
was  before  Congress,  a  naval  armament  under  Admiral 
Sir  Peter  Parker,  and  a  land  force  under  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  made  a  combined  attack  upon  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  and  many  Americans  were  killed.  And  after 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  went  forth,  the  King's 
minions  continued  to  "plunder  our  seas,  ravage  our 
coasts,  and  destroy  the  lives  of  our  people." 

XXV.  Hs  is  at  tJiis  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  ivorks  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun, with  circumstances  of  cruelty 
and  perfidy  scarcely  2)ara^e^ed  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

Toward  the  close  of  1775,  Lord  North  introduced  a 
bill  in  Parliament,  which  provided  for  prohibiting  all 
intercourse  with  the  colonies,  until  they  should  submit, 
and  for  placing  the  whole  country  under  martial  law. 
This  bill  included  a  clause  for  appointing  resident  com 
missioners  in  America,  who  should  have  discretionary 
powers  to  grant  pardons  and  effect  indemnities,  in  case 
the  Americans  should  come  to  terms.  Having  thus 
determined  to  place  the  country  under  martial  law,  and  to 
procure  the  submission  of  the  colonies  by  force  of  arms, 
the  next  important  consideration  was  to  procure  the 
requisite  force.  The  estimated  number  of  men  sufficient 
to  carry  out  successfully  the  designs  of  the  ministry,  was 
twenty-eight  thousand  seamen,  and  a  land  force  of  fifty- 
five  thousand  men. 

This  was  a  large  force  to  raise  within  the  brief  space 
which  the  exigency  of  the  case  required,  for  the  peace 
establishment  at  home  was  small  enough  already,  and  the 
delay  in  procuring  volunteers,  or  waiting  for  the  return 


302  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

of  troops  from  foreign  stations,  might  prove  fatal  to  their 
plans.  Ministers  therefore  resolved  to  hire  soldiers  of 
some  of  the  German  princes,  and  they  at  once  appointed 
a  commissioner  for  the  purpose.  Early  in  1776,  a  treaty 
was  concluded,  and  the  Landgrave  of  Kesse-Cassel 
agreed  to  furnish  twelve  thousand  one  hundred  and 
four  men  ;  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  four  thousand  and 
eighty-four  ;  the  Prince  of  Hesse,  six  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight ;  the  Prince  of  Waldeck,  six  hundred  and  seventy; 
making  in  all,  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  and 
twenty-six.  The  masters  of  these  mercenaries,  per 
ceiving  the  stern  necessity  which  had  driven  the  British 
government  to  this  atrocious  resort,  in  its  endeavor  to  crush 
the  spirit  of  freedom  in  its  American  colonies,  extorted 
hard  terms  —  terms  which  none  but  a  desperate  suitor  for 
favor  would  have  agreed  to.  It  was  stipulated  that  they 
were  to  receive  seven  pounds,  four  shillings  and  four 
pence  sterling  for  each  man,  besides  being  relieved  from 
the  burden  of  maintaining  them.  In  addition,  the  princes 
were  to  receive  a  certain  stipend,  amounting  in  all  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling,  or  about 
six  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  And 
Great  Britain  further  agreed  to  guaranty  the  dominions 
of  those  princes  against  foreign  attacks  during  the  absence 
of  their  soldiers. 

This  hiring  of  the  bone  and  sinew,  and  even  the  lives, 
of  foreign  troops — purchased  assassins — to  aid  in  en 
slaving  its  own  children,  whose  only  crime  was  an  irre 
pressible  aspiration  for  freedom,  is  the  foulest  blot  upon 
the  escutcheon  of  Great  Britain,  which  its  unholy  warfare 
against  us  during  the  revolution  produced.  The  best 
friends  of  Great  Britain,  in  and  out  of  Parliament,  deeply 
deplored  the  measure  ;  and  the  opposition  in  the  Na 
tional  Legislature,  w:th  a  sincere  concern  for  the  fair  fame 
.if  their  country  did  all  in  their  power  to  prevent  tha 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  303 

transaction.  But  Parliament,  as  if  madly  bent  on  the 
entire  destruction  of  British  honor,  and  on  pulling  down 
the  very  pillars  of  the  Constitution,  seconded  the  views 
of  Ministers,  and  adopted  the  measure  by  an  overwhelm 
ing  majority. 

For  this  act,  the  King  and  his  Ministers  were  obliged 
to  hear  many  home  truths  from  statesmen  in  both  Houses 
of  Parliament.  Among  others,  the  Earl  of  Coventry 
inveighed  most  heartily  against  the  employment  of 
foreign  mercenaries  to  fight  the  battles  of  England,  even 
in  a  just  war.  He  maintained  that  the  war  in  question 
was  an  unnatural  and  unrighteous  one,  and,  as  such, 
would  not  terminate  favorably  to  the  oppressor.  . "  Look 
on  the  map  of  the  globe,"  said  he  ;  "  view  Great  Britain 
and  North  America ;  compare  their  extent ;  consider 
their  soil,  rivers,  climate,  and  increasing  population  of 
the  latter ;  nothing  but  the  most  obstinate  blindness  and 
partiality  can  engender  a  serious  opinion  that  such  a 
country  will  long  continue  under  subjection  to  this. 
The  question  is  not,  therefore,  how  we  shall  be  able  to 
realize  a  vain,  delusive  scheme  of  dominion,  but  how  we 
shall  make  it  the  interest  of  the  Americans  to  continue 
faithful  allies  and  warm  friends.  Surely  that  can  never 
be  effected  by  fleets  and  armies.  Instead  of  meditating 
conquest,  and  exhausting  our  strength  in  an  ineffectual 
struggle,  we  should  wisely,  abandoning  wild  schemes  of 
coercion,  avail  ourselves  }f  the  only  substantial  benefit 
we  can  ever  expect,  the  profits  of  an  extensive  com 
merce,  and  the  strong  support  of  a  firm  and  friendly 
alliance  and  compact  for  mutual  defence  and  assistance." 

What  blood  and  treasure  would  have  been  spared 
had  such  statesmanlike  views  prevailed  in  the  British 
Parliament.  But  national  pride  was  wounded,  and  its 
festerings  produced  relentless  hate,  whose  counsels  had 
yn  whispers  of  justice  or  of  honorable  peace.  "  Large 


304  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

armies  of  foreign  mercenaries,  to  complete  the  work  of 
death,  desolation  and  tyranny,  already  begun,"  were 
sent  hither,  and  the  odious  Hessians  (the  general  title 
given  to  those  German  troops)  performed  their  first  act 
in  the  bloody  dvama,  in  the  Battle  of  Long  Island,  on  the 
twenty-ninth  oi  August,  1776. 

XXVI.  He  has  constrained  our  fellow -citizens,  taken 
captive  on  tJie  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their 
country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and 
brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

About  the  last  of  December,  1775,  the  British  Parlia 
ment  passed  an  act  for  prohibiting  all  trade  and  com 
merce  with  the  colonies,  and  authorizing  the  capture  and 
condemnation,  not  only  of  all  American  vessels  with  their 
cargoes,  but  all  other  vessels  found  trading  with  the 
colonies,  and  the  crews  were  to  be  treated,  mot  as  pri 
soners,  but  as  slaves.  By  a  clause  in  the  act,  it  was  made 
lawful  for  the  commander  of  a  British  vessel  to  take  the 
masters,  crews,  and  other  persons,  found  in  the  captured 
vessels,  and  to  put  them  on  board  any  other  British  armed 
vessel,  enter  their  names  on  the  books  of  the  same,  and, 
from  the  time  of  such  entry,  such  persons  were  to  be  con 
sidered  in  the  service  of  his  majesty,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  though  they  had  entered  themselves  volun 
tarily  on  board  such  vessel.*  By  this  means,  the  Ameri 
cans  were  compelled  to  fight  even  against  their  own 
friends  and  countrymen  —  "  to  become  the  executioners 
of  their  friends  and  brethren,  or  to  fall  by  their  hands." 
This  barbarous  act  was  loudly  condemned  on  the  floor 
of  Parliament,  as  unworthy  of  a  Christian  people,  a 
"  refinement  of  cruelty  unknown  among  savage  nations," 
and  paralleled  only  "  among  pirates,  the  outlaws  and  ene 

*  Pitiin,  vol.  i.,  p  357. 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  303 

mies  of  human  society."     But  the  act  became  law,  and 
to  the  disgrace  of  Great  Britain  it  was  put  in  force. 

It  was  the  provisions  of  this  odious  act  which  laid  the 
3>ritish  government  under  the  necessity  of  providing  a 
force  to  carry  out  its  designs  in  America,  which  its  re 
sources  in  men  were  inadequate  to  do  ;  and  ministers 
resorted  to  the  foul  measure  of  hiring  German  soldiers 
to  fight  their  battles  against  their  brethren  here 

XXVII.  He  has  excited' domestic  insurrections  among  us, 
and  has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our 
frontiers,  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known 
rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all 
ages,  sexes  and  conditions. 

Lord  Dunmore,  one  of  the  most  unpopular  governors 
Virginia  ever  had,  became  involved  in  difficulties  with  the 
people,  soon  after  his  accession.  Like  too  many  of  the 
native  born  Englishmen  at  that  time,  he  regarded  the 
colonists  as  inferior  people,  and  instead  of  using  concili 
atory  measures,  which  might  have  made  his  situation 
agreeable  to  himself,  he  maintained  a  haughty  carnage 
and  aristocratic  reserve.  These  private  matters  would 
have  been  tolerated,  had  not  his  public  acts  partaken  of 
the  same  spirit.  He  seemed  to  be  exceedingly  deficient 
in  judgment,  and  by  various  acts  of  annoyance  he  greatly 
exasperated  the  people.  At  length  they  arose  in  arms  in 
consequence  of  his  removing  the  powder  of  the  colonial 
magazine  on  board  of  a  ship  of  war,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  fly  thither  himself^  with  his  family,  for  fear  of  personal 
injury.  This  was  early  in  May,  1775,  and  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  he  atternpted  to  regain  his  lost  power. 
All  moderate  attempts  having  failed,  he  resolved  on  a 
bolder  and  more  cruel  measure.  He  issued  his  procla 
mation,  and  authoritatively  summoned  to  his  standard  all 
capable  of  bearing  arms  ;  and  in  that  proclamatior,  as 


506  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

well  as  through  private  emissaries,  he  offered  freedom  to 
the  slaves  if  they  would  take  up  arms  against  their  mas 
ters.  Thus  he  "  excited  domestic  insurrection." 

In  the  spring  of  1775,  this  same  Governor  Dunmore 
was  an  accomplice  in,  and  an  active  promoter  of,  a  scheme 
to  "  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers,  the  merci 
less  Indian  savages."  The  plan  adopted  was  to  organize 
an  active  co-operation  of  all  the  various  Indian  tribes  on 
the  frontier,  with  the  Tories.  John  Connelly,  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian,  has  the  honor  of  originating  the  plot ;  and  he  found 
in  Governor  Dunmore  a  zealous  coadjutor  and  liberal 
patron  in  the  enterprise.  Fort  Pitt  (now  Pittsburgh) 
was  to  be  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  ample  rewards 
were  offered  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Indians,  as  well  as  to  the 
militia  captains,  who  should  join  their  standard. 

In  order  to  connect  the  plan,  give  it  wider  scope., 
secure  more  efficiency,  and  have  higher  sanction,  a  mes 
senger  was  sent  to  Governor  Gage,  at  Boston,  then 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  British  forces  in  America. 
Gage  entered  heartily  into  the  atrocious  scheme,  and 
gave  Connelly  a  commission  as  Lieutenant-Colonel.  He 
also  sent  an  emissary  named  John  Stuart,  to  the  nation 
of  the  Cherokees  on  the  borders  of  the  Carolinas.  General 
Carleton,  governor  of  Canada,  sent  Colonel  Johnson  to 
the  Indians  of  St.  Francis,  and  others,  belonging  to  the 
Six  Nations,  and  in  every  case  heavy  bribes  were  offered. 
Too  well  did  these  emissaries  succeed,  for  during  the 
summer  hundreds  of  innocent  old  men,  women,  and 
young  children,  were  butchered  in  cold  blood  upon  the 
frontiers  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas. 

This  charge  was  ti-ue,  not  only  at  the  time  it  was  made 
in  th3  Declaration  of  Independence,  but  on  several  subse 
quent  occasions  it  might  with  verity  have  been  made. 
When  Burgoyne  prepared  to  invade  the  States  from 
Canada,  he,  by  express  orders  of  ministers,  put  under 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  307 

arms,  and  secured  for  the  British  service  several  tribes 
of  Indians  inhabiting  the  country  between  the  Mohawk 
river  and  Lake  Ontario.  And  just  before  going  to  attack 
Ticonderoga,  he  gave  a  great  war  feast  to  the  Indians,  and 
issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  the  Americans  to 
surrender  or  suffer  the  consequences  of  savage  ferocity. 

The  American  Congress,  in  its  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  after  asserting  that  "  The  History  of  the 
present  King  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated 
injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having,  in  direct  object,  the 
establishment  of  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states," 
and  submitting  the  foregoing  charges  as  proofs  of  the 
truth  of  their  declaration,  they  asserted  : — 

5«(irst :  That  in  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have 
petitioned  for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms.  Our 
repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  repeated 
injury. 

For  ten  long  years,  "  in  every  stage  of  these  oppres 
sions,"  did  the  colonists  "  petition  for  redress  in  the  most 
humble  terms."  It  was  done  by  the  Colonial  Congress 
which  assembled  in  1765,  in  consequence  of  the  passage  of 
the  Stamp  Act.  They  put  forth  a  Declaration  of  Rights, 
the  thirteenth  section  of  which  asserted,  "  That  it  is  the 
right  of  the  British  subject  in  these  colonies  to  petition  the 
King,  or  either  House  of  Parliament."  This  right  was 
denied  by  the  colonial  governors,  claiming  it  exclusively 
for  the  assemblies  in  their  legislative  capacity.  But  acting 
upon  their  declared  right,  that  Congress  sent  a  most  humble 
petition  to  the  King,  setting  fcTth  the  grievances  which  the 
acts  for  taxing  the  colonies  imposed  upon  the  people,  and 
beseeching  him  to  lay  the  subject  before  the  Parliament 
and  obtain  redress  for  them.  But  this  petition  was  un 
heeded,  as  well  as  those  of  the  popular  provincial  con 
ventions,  and  "  repeated  injuries  "  were  inflicted,  in  the 


308  THE    DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

form  of  new  and  oppressive  acts  for  taxing  the  colonists 
without  their  consent. 

The  first  Continental  Congress,  that  convened  in  Sep 
tember,  1774,  humbly  petitioned  the  King,  and  set  forth 
the  various  measures  of  his  government  which  bore 
heavily  upon  their  prosperity  and  curtailed  their  rights 
as  British  subjects.  The  General  Congress  that  met  in 
May,  the  next  year,  also  sent  another  humble  petition  to 
the  King,  but  both  were  "  answered  only  by  repeated 
injuries."  Instead  of  listening  to  their  loyal  importunities 
for  redress,  he  deprived  them  in  many  cases  of  "  trial  by 
jury  ;"  he  prepared  to  "  transport  them  beyond  seas,  to 
be  tried  for  pretended  offences ;"  he  "  abolished  the  free 
system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  province ;"  he 
took  away  their  charters,  abolished  their  "  most  valuable 
laws,"  and  "altered,  fundamentally,  the  Jbr?ns"  of  their 
government ;  he  "  plundered  their  seas,  ravaged  their 
coasts,  burnt  their  towns,  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  their 
people ;"  and  he  transported  "  large  armies  of  foreign 
mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  desolation, 
and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circumstances  of  cruelty 
and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous 
ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation." 
Secondly  :  TFe  have  not  been  wanting  in  attention  to 
our  British  brethren. 

This  assertion  the  journals  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  British  Parliament,  fully  cor 
roborate.  The  first  address  put  forth  by  the  Continental 
CDngress,  in  1774,  was  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  in 
which  the  most  affectionate  terms  of  brotherhood,  ex 
pressive  of  the  strongest  feelings  which  the  ties  of  con 
sanguinity  could  produce,  were  used.  They  concluded 
their  address  by  expressing  a  hope  "  that  the  magnanim 
ity  and  justice  of  the  British  nation  will  furnish  a  parlia 
ment  of  such  wisdom,  independence,  and  public  spirit,  as 


HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED.  309 

may  save  the  violated  rights  of  the  whole  empire  from 
the  devices  of  wicked  ministers  and  evil  counsellors, 
whether  in  or  out  of  office  ;  arid  thereby  restore  that 
harmony,  friendship,  and  fraternal  affection,  between  all 
the  inhabitants  of  his  majesty's  kingdoms  and  territo 
ries,  so  ardently  wished  for  by  every  true  and  honest 
American." 

The  second  Continental  Congress,  in  1775,  sent  an 
affectionate  address  to  the  people  of  Ireland,  in  which 
they  thanked  them  for  the  friendly  disposition  which  they 
had  always  shown  toward  Americans  ;  expressed  a  strong 
sympathy  for  them,  on  account  of  the  grievances  which 
the  inhabitants  of  that  fertile  island  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  the  same  arbitrary  rulers,  and  closed  with  a  "hope 
that  the  patient  abiding  of  the  meek  may  not  always  be 
forgotten  ;"  and  that  God  would  "  grant  that  the  iniqui 
tous  schemes  for  extirpating  liberty  from  the  British 
empire  might  be  soon  defeated." 

But,  not  only  were  British  rulers  unmindful  of  their 
petitions  and  of  their  remonstrances ;  their  "  British 
brethren"  also  were  deaf  to  the  "voice  of  justice  and  con 
sanguinity  ;"  and  the  colonists  were  obliged  to  acquiesce 
in  the  necessity  which  denounced  their  separation  ;  and 
they  held  them,  as  they  held  the  rest  of  mankind,  "  ENE 
MIES  IN  WAR IN  PEACE,  FRIENDS." 


THE   CONFEDERATION. 


THE  Declaration  of  the  representatives  of  the  united 
colonies  of  North  America,  in  General  Congress  assem 
bled,  that  "these  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
free  and  independent  states,"  was  but  the  initial  act  in 
the  great  work  of  founding  a  free  republic  out  of  a  dis 
membered  portion  of  one  of  the  mightiest  empires  of  the 
earth.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  declare  the  states  free, 
but  they  well  knew  it  would  be  a  laborious  task  to  support 
that  declaration,  and  consummate  the  work  thus  begun. 
Already  fleets  were  hovering  upon  our  coasts,  and 
armies  traversed  our  provinces,  with  the  dire  purpose  of 
quelling  rebellion  by  fire  and  sword,  and  all  the  vast  ini 
quities  of  war.  At  the  very  time  the  Declaration  wa» 
made,  a  British  squadron  was  near  our  coast,  bearing 
thousands  of  hired  mercenaries,  some  of  them  veterans 
from  the  vast  armies  of  Frederick  the  Great,  all  eager  to 
win  the  laurels  of  glory  or  the  gold  of  plunder,  in  the 
exercise  of  their  desolating  profession.  Combined  with 
these  foes  from  without,  were  the  more  dreaded  foes 
within  - —  those  who,  through  principle  or  interest,  ad 
hered  to  the  Crown.  They  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
timid,  the  time-serving,  the  ambitious,  and  the  indolent, 
who  feared  British  power,  courted  its  caresses,  sought 
the  preferments  it  could  bestow,  or  loved  ease  better 
than  freedom.  This  class  was  not  small  nor  weak,  but 
by  its  secret  treacheries,  or  open  resistance,  it  weakened 
the  bond  of  the  American  union,  and  greatly  strength 
ened  the  royal  arm. 

With  such  a  great  work  before  them  —  with  such  beset 


ARTICI.rS    OF    CONFEDERATION.  811 

ments  in  the  way  —  by  such  dangers  surrounded — it  is 
no  wonder  that  great  doubt,  and  anxiety,  and  dread,  per 
vaded  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  caused  American 
legislators  to  desire  a  more  tangible  bond  of  union  than 
a  Federal  Congress,  and  a  Federal  Army.  The  various 
state  governments  were  in  utter  confusion,  and  in  their 
practical  operations  they  harmonized  in  few  things,  ex 
cept  in  making  provisions  for  the  army;  and  even  this 
paramount  claim  was  often  so  neglected  by  particular 
states  as  almost  to  paralyze  the  military  movements. 
Royal  governments  in  all  the  colonies  had  been  over 
turned,  and  the  people,  in  spontaneous  assemblies,  col 
lected  the  best  fragments  together  and  formed  provincial 
congresses,  in  which  they  vested  local  governmental 
powers.  But  these  were  perceived  to  be  but  broken 
reeds  to  depend  upon  in  the  great  work  of  the  revolu 
tion  yet  to  be  performed ;  and  the  statesmen  of  that  dark 
hour,  feeling  the  necessity  of  a  central  power,  regarded 
a  confederation  of  the  several  states,  with  Congress  as  a 
controlling  head,  a  measure  essential  to  the  perpetuity, 
not  only  of  their  efforts  to  become  free,  but  of  their  very 
existence. 

As  early  as  July,  1775,  that  far-sighted  and  clear 
headed  statesman,  Doctor  Franklin,  submitted  to  the 
consideration  of  Congress  a  sketch  of  articles  of  con 
federation  between  the  colonies,  limiting  the  duration  of 
their  vitality  to  the  time  when  reconciliation  with  Great 
Britain  should  take  place  ;  or  in  the  event  of  the  failure 
of  that  desirable  result,  to  be  perpetual.  At  that  time, 
Congress  seemed  to  have  no  fixed  plans  for  the  future  — 
the  teeming  present,  with  all  its  vast  and  novel  concerns, 
engrossed  their  whole  attention  ;  .and  Doctor  Franklin's 
plan  seems  not  to  have  been  discussed  at  all  in  the 
National  Council.  But  when  a  datlaration  of  inde 
pendence  was  proposed,  that  idea  alone  suggested  the 
necessity  of  a  confederation  of  the  states  to  carryforward 


312  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

the  work  to  a  successful  consummation.  Congress,  there 
fore,  on  the  eleventh  of  June,  1776,  resolved  that  a  com 
mittee  should  be  appointed  to  prepare,  and  properly 
digest,  a  form  of  confederation  to  be  entered  into  by  the 
several  states.  The  committee  appointed  under  the 
resolution  consisted  of  one  delegate  from  each  state. 
John  Dickinson,  of  Pennsylvania,  (who  was  opposed  to 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  would  have  voted 
against  it,  if  he  had  been  present,)  was  chosen  chairman, 
and  through  him  the  committee  reported  a  draft  of  arti 
cles  of  confederation,  on  the  twelfth  of  July.  Almost 
daily  debates  upon  the  subject  ensued  until  the  twen 
tieth  of  August,  when  the  report  was  laid  aside,  and  was 
not  taken  up  again  for  consideration  until  the  seventh 
of  April,  1777.  In  the  meanwhile,  the  several  states  had 
adopted  constitutions  for  their  respective  government, 
and  Congress  was  practically  acknowledged  the  supreme 
head  in  all  matters  appertaining  to  the  war,  public 
finances,  &c.  It  emitted  bills  of  credit,  or  paper  money, 
appointed  foreign  ministers,  and  opened  negotiations 
with  foreign  governments. 

From  the  seventh  of  April,  until  the  fifteenth  of 
November  following,  the  subject  was  debated  two  or 
three  times  a  week,  and  several  amendments  were  made. 
As  the  Confederation  might  be  a  permanent  bond  of  Un 
ion,  of  course  local  interests  were  considered  prospec- 
tively.  If  the  union  had  been  designed  to  be  temporary, 
to  meet  the  exigencies  arising  from  the  state  of  war  in 
which  the  colonies  then  were,  local  questions  could  hardly 
have  had  weight  enough  to  have  elicited  debate;  but 
such  was  not  the  ca«e,  and  of  course  the  sagacious  men, 
who  were  then  in  Congress,  looked  beyond  the  present, 
and  endeavored  to  legislate  accordingly.  From  the 
seventh  of  October,  until  the  fifteenth  of  November, 
the  debates  upon  it  were  almost  daily,  and  the  conflict 
ing  interests  of  the  several  states  were  strongly  brought 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION.  313 

into  view  by  the  different  speakers.  On  that  day,  the  fol 
lowing  draft,  containing  all  of  the  amendments,  was 
laid  before  Congress,  and  after  a  spirited  debate  was 
adopted  : — 

TO  ALL  TO  WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  SHALL  COME,  WE,  THE 
UNDERSIGNED,  DELEGATES  OF  THE  STATES  AFFIXED  TO 
OUR  NAMES,  SEND  GREETING. 

WHEREAS,  the  delegates  of  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica  in  Congress  assembled,  did,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of 
November,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  seventy-seven,  and  in  the  second  year  of  the 
independence  of  America,  agree  to  certain  articles  of 
confederation  and  perpetual  union  between  the  States  of 
New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia, 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  in  the 
words  following,  viz.:  — 

Articles  of  Confederation  and  perpetual  Union  between  the 
States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia. 

ARTICLE  1.  The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be, "  The 
United  States  of  America." 

ARTICLE  2.  Each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom, 
and  independence,  and  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and 
right,  which  is  not  by  this  confederation  expressly  dele 
gated  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  3.  The  said  states  hereby  severally  enter  into 
a  firm  league  of  friendship  with  each  other  for  their  com 
mon  defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties,  and  their  rrm< 

14 


314  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

tual  and  general  welfare ;  binding  themselves  to  assist 
each  other  against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made 
upon  them,  or  affy  of  them,  on  account  of  religion,  sove 
reignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretence  whatever. 

ARTICLE  4,  The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mu 
tual  friendship,  and  intercourse  among  the  people  of  the 
different  states  in  this  Union,  the  free  inhabitants  of  each 
of  these  states,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from 
justice  excepted,  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  im 
munities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several  states  ;  and  the 
people  of  each  state  shall  have  free  ingress  and  regress 
to  and  from  any  other  state,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the 
privileges  of  trade  and  commerce  subject  to  the  same 
duties,  impositions,  and  restrictions,  as  the  inhabitants 
thereof  respectively,  provided  that  such  restrictions  shall 
not  extend  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  removal  of  property 
imported  into  any  state  to  any  other  state,  of  which  the 
owner  is  an  inhabitant ;  provided  also,  that  no  imposition, 
duties,  or  restriction,  shall  be  laid  by  any  state  on  the 
property  of  the  United  States  or  either  of  them. 

If  any  person  guilty  of  or  charged  with  treason,  felony, 
or  other  high  misdemeanor-,  in  any  state,  shall  flee  from 
justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United  States,  he  shall 
upon  demand  of  the  governor  or  executive  power  of  the 
state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to 
the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  his  offence. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these 
states  to  the  records,  acts,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  tho 
courts  and  magistrates  of  every  other  state. 

ARTICLE  5.  For  the  more  convenient  management  of 
the  general  interests  of  the  United  States,  delegates  shall 
be  annually  appointed  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature 
of  each  state  shall  direct,  to  meet  in  Congress  on  the  first 
Monday  in  November,  in  every  year,  with  a  power  re- 
•erved  to  each  state  to  recall  its  delegates  or  any  of  them. 


ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION.  313 

at  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their 
stead  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

No  state  shall  be  represented  in  Congress  by  less  than 
two,  nor  by  more  than  seven  members  ;  and  no  person 
shall  be  capable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more  than  three 
years  in  any  term  of  six  years ;  nor  shall  any  person, 
being  a  delegate,  be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under 
the  United  States,  for  which  he,  or  another  for  his  benefit 
receives  any  salary,  fees,  or  emoluments  of  any  kind. 

Each  stat  •>  shall  maintain  its  own  delegates  in  a  meeting 
of  the  states,  and  while  they  act  as  members  of  the  com 
mittee  of  the  states. 

In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  each  state  shall  have  one  vote. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  Congress  shall  not  be 
impeached  or  questioned  in  any  court  or  place  out  of 
Congress  ;  and  the  members  of  Congress  shall  he  protect 
ed  in  their  persons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments,  during 
the  time  of  their  going  to  and  from  and  attendance  on  Con 
gress,  except  for  treason,  felony  or  breach  of  the  peace. 

ARTICLE  6.   No  state,  without  the  consent  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to 
or  receive  any  embassy  from,  or  enter  into  any  conference 
agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty,  with  any  king,  prince,  or 
state ;  nor  shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them,  accept  of 
any  present,  emolument,  office  or  title  of  any  kind  what 
ever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state ;  nor  shall 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them, 
grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  states  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  con 
federation,  or  alliance  whatever,  between  them,  without 
the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
specifying  accurately  the  purposes  for  which  the  same  13 
to  be  entered  ito  and  h  ow  long  it  shall  continue. 


316  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

No  state  shall  lay  any  imports  or  duties,  which  may 
interfere  with  any  stipulations  in  treaties  entered  into  by 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  with  any  king, 
prince,  or  state,  in  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  pro 
posed  by  Congress  to  the  courts  of  France  and  Spain. 

No  vessel-of-vvar  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by 
any  state,  except  such  number  only  as  shall  be  deemed 
necessary  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  for 
l*ie  defence  of  such  state  or  its  trade ;  nor  shall  any  body 
of  forces  be  kept  up  by  any  state  in  time  of  peace,  ex 
cept  such  number  only  as  in  the  judgment  of  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite 
to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  defence  of  such 
state  ;  but  every  state  shall  always  keep  up  a  well-regu 
lated  and  disciplined  militia,  sufficiently  armed  and  ac 
coutred,  and  shall  provide  and  have  constantly  ready  for 
use,  in  public  stores,  a  due  number  of  field-pieces  and 
tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition,  and 
camp  equipage. 

No  state  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent 
of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such 
state  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies  or  shall  have  re 
ceived  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some 
nation  of  Indians  to  invade  such  state,  and  the  danger  is 
BO  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a  delay  till  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled  can  be  consulted  ;  nor  shall 
any  state  grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  vessels-of-war, 
nor  letters  of  marque  or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a 
declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  as 
sembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom  or  state,  and 
the  subjects  thereof,  against  which  war  has  been  so  de 
clared,  and  under  such  regulations  as  shall  be  established 
by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  unless  such 
state  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case  vessels-of-war 
may  be  fitted  out  *br  that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as 


ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION,  317 

the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until  the  United  Staies  in 
Congress  assembled  shall  determine  otherwise. 

ATICLE  7.  When  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  state 
for  the  common  defence,  all  officers  of  or  under  the  rank 
of  colonel,  shall  be  appointed  by  the  legislature  of  each 
state  respectively,  by  whom  such  forces  shall  be  raised 
or  in  such  manner  as  such  state  shall  direct,  and  all  vacan 
cies  shall  be  filled  up  by  the  state  which  first  made  the 
appointment. 

ARTICLE  8.  All  charges  of  war,  and  all  other  expenses 
that  shall  be  incurred  for  the  common  defence  or  gene 
ral  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  shall  be  defrayed  out  of  a  common  treasury, 
which  shall  be  supplied  by  the  several  states  in  propor 
tion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each  state  granted  to 
or  surveyed  for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the  building? 
and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated  according 
to  such  mode  as  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled 
shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and  appoint. 

The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and 
levied  by  the  authority  and  direction  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  several  states,  within  the  time  agreed  upon  by  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

ARTICLE  9.  The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled 
shall  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  and  power  of  de 
termining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  the  cases  men 
tioned  in  the  sixth  article — of  sending  and  receiving  am 
bassadors — entering  into  treaties  and  alliances  ;  provided 
that  no  treaty  of  commerce  shall  be  made  whereby  the 
legislative  power  of  the  respective  states  shall  be  re 
strained  from  imposing  such  imposts  and  duties  on 
foreigners  as  their  own  people  are  subjected  to,  or  from 
prohibiting  exportation  or  importation  of  any  species  of 
goods  or  commodities  whatsoever — of  establishing  rules 
for  deciding  in  all  cases,  what  captures  on  land  or  wal^r 


318  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner  prizes  taken  by  land 
or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  shall  bo 
divided  or  appropriated — of  granting  letters  of  marque 
and  reprisal  in  times  of  peace — appointing  courts  for  the 
trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas, 
and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining 
finally  appeals  in  all  cases  of  captures  :  provided,  that 
no  member  of  Congress  shall  be  appointed  a  judge  of  any 
of  the  said  courts. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also  be 
the  last  resort  on  appeal  in  all  disputes  and  differences 
now  subsisting  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  between  two 
or  more  states  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction  or  any 
other  cause  whatever ;  which  authority  shall  always  be 
exercised  in  the  manner  following :  whenever  the  legisla 
tive  or  executive  authority  or  lawful  agent  of  any  state  in 
controversy  with  another  shall  present  a  petition  to  Con 
gress,  stating  the  matter  in  question,  and  praying  for  a 
hearing,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  order  of  Con 
gress  to  the  legislative  or  executive  authority  of  the 
other  state  in  controversy,  and  a  day  assigned  for 
the  appearance  of  the  parties,  by  their  lawful  agents, 
who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint  by  joint  consent 
commissioners  or  judges  to  constitute  a  court  for  hear 
ing  and  determining  the  matter  in  question ;  but  if  they 
cannot  agree,  Congress  shall  name  three  persons  out 
of  each  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  list  of  such 
persons  each  party  shall  alternately  strike  out  one,  the 
petitioners  beginning,  until  the  number  shall  be  reduced 
to  thirteen  ;  and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven  nor 
more  than  nine  names,  as  Congress  shall  direct,  shall,  in 
in  the  presence  of  Congress,  be  drawn  out  by  lot ;  and 
the  person?-  whose  names  shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five 
of  them,  Siiall  be  commissioners  or  judges,  to  hear  and 
finally  determine  the  controversy,  so  always  as  a  major 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION.  319 

part  of  the  judges,  who  shall  hear  the  cause,  shall  agree 
in  the  determination  ;  and  if  either  party  shall  neglect  to 
attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  showing  reasons 
which  Congress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present 
shall  refuse  to  strike,  the  Congress  shall  proceed  to 
nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  state,  and  the  secre 
tary  of  Congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  ab 
sent  or  refusing ;  and  the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the 
court  to  be  appointed  in  the  manner  before  prescribed, 
shall  be  final  and  conclusive  ;  and  if  any  of  the  par 
ties  shall  refuse  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  such 
court,  or  to  appear,  or  defend  their  claim  or  cause,  the 
court  s.hall  nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence 
or  judgment,  which  shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  de 
cisive,  the  judgment  or  sentence  and  other  proceedings 
being  in  either  case  transmitted  to  Congress,  and  lodged 
among  the  acts  of  Congress  for  the  security  of  the  par 
ties  concerned ;  provided,  that  every  commissioner,  before 
he  sits  in  judgment,  shall  take  an  oath,  to  be  administered 
by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  or  superior  court  of 
the  state,  where  the  cause  shall  be  tried,  "  well  and  truly 
to  hear  and  determine  the  matter  in  question,  according 
to  the  best  of  his  judgment,  without  favor,  affection,  or 
hope  of  reward  :"  provided  also,  that  no  state  shall  be 
deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States. 
All  controversies  concerning  the  private  right  of  soil, 
claimed  under  different  grants  of  two  or  more  states, 
whose  jurisdiction  as  they  may  respect  such  lands,  and  the 
states  which  passed  such  grants  are  adjusted,  the  said 
grants  or  either  of  them  being  at  the  same  time  claimed 
to  have  originated  antecedent  to  such  settlement  of  juris 
diction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  be  finally  determii-ed  as  near 
as  may  be,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  before  prescribed 
for  deciding  disputes  respecting  territorial  jurisdiction 
between  different  states. 


d20  ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  also 
have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  arid  power  of  regulating 
the  alloy  and  value  of  coin  struck  by  their  own  authority, 
or  by  that  of  the  respective  states — fixing  the  standard  of 
weights  and  measures  throughout  the  United  States — 
regulating  the  trade  and  managing  all  affairs  with  the 
Indians  not  members  of  any  of  the  states  ;  provided  that 
the  legislative  right  of  any  state  within  its  own  limits  be 
not  infringed  or  violated — establishing  and  regulating  post- 
offices  from  one  state  to  another  throughout  all  the  Uni 
ted  States,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  pass 
ing  through  the  same,  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  said  office  —  appointing  all  officers  of  the 
land  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  excepting 
regimental  officers  —  appointing  all  the  officers  of  the 
naval  forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whatever  in 
the  service  of  the  United  States — making  rules  for  the 
government  and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and  naval 
forces  and  directing  their  operations. 

The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  have 
authority  to  appoint  a  committee  to  sit  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  to  be  denominated  "  a  committee  of  the  states," 
and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  state ;  and  to  ap 
point  such  other  committees  and  civil  offices  as  may  be 
necessary  for  managing  the  general  affairs  of  the  United 
States,  under  their  direction — to  appoint  one  of  their 
number  to  preside,  provided  that  no  person  be  allowed 
to  serve  in  the  office  of  president  more  than  one  year  in 
any  term  of  three  years  —  to  ascertain  the  necessary  sums 
of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  appropriate  and  apply  the  same  for  defraying  the 
public  expenses — to  borrow  money  or  emit  bills  on  the 
credit  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  every  half  year 
to  the  respective  states  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money 
so  borrowed  or  emitted  —  to  build  and  equip  a  navy 


ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION.  321 

to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land  forces,  and  to  make 
requisitions  from  each  state  for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  white  inhabitants  in  such  state  :  which 
requisition  shall  be  binding,  and  thereupon,  the  legislature 
of  each  state  shall  appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise 
the  men,  and  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them,  in  a  soldier 
like  manner,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  ;  and  the 
officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed  and  equipped,  shall 
march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed 
on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  :  but  if  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  shall  on  considera 
tion  of  circumstances  judge  proper  that  any  state  should  not 
raise  men  or  should  raise  a  smaller  number  than  its  quota 
and  that  any  other  state  should  raise  a  greater  number  of 
men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra  number  shall  be 
raised,  officered,  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  quota  of  such  state,  unless  the  legislature  of 
such  state  shall  judge  that  such  extra  number  can  not 
safely  be  spared  out  of  the  same  ;  in  which  case  they  shall 
raise,  officer,  clothe,  arm  and  equip,  as  many  of  such 
extra  number  as  they  judge  can  be  safely  spared.  And 
the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed  and  equipped, 
shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time 
agreed  on  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 
The  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  shall  never 
engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
in  time  of  peace,  nor  enter  into  any  treaties  or  alliances,  nor 
coin  money,  nor  regulate  the  value  thereof,  nor  ascertain 
the  sums  and  expenses  necessary  for  the  defence  and 
welfare  of  the  United  States  or  any  of  them,  nor  emit 
bills,  nor  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United 
States,  nor  appropriate  money,  nor  agree  upon  the  num 
ber  of  vessels-of-war  to  be  built  or  purchased,  or  the 
number  of  land  or  sea  forces  to  be  raised,  nor  ap 
point  a  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  or  navy  unless 
14* 


322  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

nine  states  assent  to  the  same ;  nor  shall  a  question  01 
any  other  point,  except  for  adjourning  from  day 'to  day, 
be  determined  unless  by  the  votes  of  a  majority  of  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  have  power 
to  adjourn  to  any  time  within  the  year,  and  to  any  place 
within  the  United  States,  so  that  no  period  of  adjourn 
ment  be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  space  of  six 
months  ;  and  shall  publish  the  journal  of  their  proceed 
ings  monthly,  except  such  parts  thereof  relating  to  trea 
ties,  alliances,  or  military  operations,  as  in  their  judgment 
require  secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  delegates 
of  each  state  on  any  question,  shall  be  entered  on  the 
journal  when  it  is  desired  by  any  delegate  ;  and  the  dele 
gates  of  a  state  or  any  of  them,  at  his  or  their  request, 
shall  be  furnished  with  a  transcript  of  the  said  journal, 
except  such  parts  as  are  above  excepted,  to  lay  before 
the  legislatures  of  the  several  states. 

ARTICLE  10.  The  committee  of  the  states,  or  any  nine 
of  them,  shall  be  authorized  to  execute,  in  the  recess  of 
Congress,  such  of  the  powers  of  Congress  as  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  by  the  consent  of  nine 
states,  shall  from  time  to  time,  think  expedient  to  vest 
them  with  ;  provided  that  no  power  be  delegated  to  the 
said  committee,  for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  articles 
of  confederation,  the  voice  of  nine  states  in  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  assembled  is  requisite. 

ARTICLE  11.  Canada,  acceding  to  this  confederation, 
and  joining  in  the  measures  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
admitted  into,  and  entitled  to,  all  the  advantages  of  this 
Union  ;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the 
same,  unless  such  admission  be  agreed  to  by  nine  states. 

ARTICLE  12.  All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  bor 
rowed,  and  debts  contracted,  by  or  under  the  authority 
of  Congress,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States* 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION.  323 

in  pursuance  of  the  present  confederation,  shall  be  deemed 
and  considered  as  a  charge  against  the  United  States,  for 
payment  and  satisfaction  whereof  the  said  United  States 
and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

ARTICLE  13.  Every  state  shall  abide  by  the  decision  of 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all  questions 
which,  by  this  confederation,  are  submitted  to  them.  And 
the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  inviolably  ob 
served  by  every  state,  and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual ; 
nor  shall  any  alteration  at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in 
any  of  them,  unless  such  alteration  be  agreed  to  in  a  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterward  confirmed 
by  the  legislature  of  every  state. 

And  whereas  it  has  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  the 
world  to  incline  the  hearts  of  the  legislatures  we  respec 
tively  represent  in  Congress,  to  approve  of  and  to  author 
ize  us  to  ratify  the  said  articles  of  confederation  and  per 
petual  Union :  know  ye,  that  we,  the  undersigned  dele 
gates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  authority  to  us  given  for 
that  purpose,  do,  by  these  presents,  in  the  name  and  in 
behalf  of  our  respective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely 
ratify  and  confirm  each  and  every  of  the  said  articles  of 
confederation  and  perpetual  Union,  and  all  and  singular 
the  matters  and  things  therein  contained  ;  and  we  do  fur 
ther  solemnly  plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respect 
ive  constituents,  that  they  shall  abide  by  the  determina 
tions  of  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  on  all 
questions  which,  by  the  said  confederation,  are  submitted 
to  them ;  and  that  the  articles  thereof  shall  be  inviolably 
observed  by  the  states  we  respectively  represent ;  and 
that  the  union  oe  perpetual. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands,  in 
Congress.  Done  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  state  of  Penn 
sylvaria,  the  ninth  day  of  July,  in  tha  year  of  our  Lord 


324 


ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 


one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  and  in  the 
third  year  of  the  independence  of  America. 


New  HampsJiire. 
JOSIAII  BARTLETT, 
JOHN  WENTWORTH,  JR. 
Massachusetts   Bay. 
JOHN  HANCOCK, 
SAMUEL  ADAMS, 
ELBRIDGE  GERRY, 
FRANCIS  DANA, 
JAMES  LOVELL, 
SAMUEL  HOLTEN, 

Rhode    Island. 
WILLIAM  ELLERY, 
HENRY  MARCHANT, 
JOHN  COLLINS. 

Connecticut. 
ROGER  SHERMAN, 
SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON, 
OLIVER  WOLCOTT, 
TITUS  HOSMER, 
ANDREW  ADAMS. 
New     York. 
JAMES  DUANE, 
FRANCIS  LEWIS, 
WILLIAM  DUER, 
GOUVERNEUR  MORRIS. 

New  Jersey. 
JOHN  WITHERSPOON, 
NATH.  SCUDDER. 

Pennsylvania. 
ROBERT  MORRIS, 
DANIEL  ROBERDEAU, 


JONATHAN  BAYARD  SMITH, 
WILLIAM  CLINGAN, 
JOSEPH  REED. 

Delaware. 
THOMAS  M'KEAN, 
JOHN  DICKINSON, 
NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE. 

Maryland. 
JOHN  HANSON, 
DANIEL  CARROLL. 

Virginia. 

RICHARD  HENRY  LEE, 
JOHN  BANISTER, 
THOMAS  ADAMS, 
JOHN  HARVIE, 
FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LEE. 

North   Carolina. 
JOHN  PENN, 
CONSTABLE  HARNETT, 
JOHN  WILLIAMS. 

South,  Carolina. 
HENRY  LAURENS, 
WILLIAM  HENRY  DRAYTON 
JOHN  MATTHEWS, 
RICHARD  HUTSON, 
THOMAS  HEYWARD,  3&. 

Georgia. 
JOHN  WALTON, 
EDWARD  TELFAIR, 
EDWARD  LANGWORTHY. 


ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION.  325 

After  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  adopted  by 
Congress,  that  body  directed  a  copy  of  them  to  be  sent 
to  the  speakers  of  the  various  state  legislatures  to  be  laid 
before  them  for  action.  They  were  accompanied  by  a 
communication,  requesting  the  several  legislatures,  in 
case  they  approved  of  them,  to  instruct  their  delegates  in 
Congress  to  vote  for  a  ratification  of  them,  which  last  act 
should  be  final  and  conclusive.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of 
November,  a  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  pro 
cure  the  translation  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation  into 
the  French  language  ;  and  also  to  prepare  and  report  an 
address  to  the  people  of  Canada,  urging  them  to  become 
a  portion  of  the  confederacy. 

The  letter  which  accompanied  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation  when  they  were  sent  to  the  several  state 
legislatures,  was  in  the  form  of  an  urgent  appeal  for  im 
mediate  and  united  action.  A  direful  necessity  called  for 
some  strong  bond  of  union,  for  the  clangor  of  arms  was 
heard  on  every  side.  Foes  without,  and  traitc  "a  within, 
were  everywhere  sowing  the  seeds  of  jealousy  between 
the  states,  and  using  every  effort  to  sunder  the  ligaments 
of  a  common  interest  and  repress  a  common  aspiration 
which  united  them.  It  was  easily  foreseen  that  the  con 
flicting  interests  of  thirteen  distinct  states  would  neces 
sarily  clash,  and  that  the  idea  of  sovereignty  which  each 
possessed  would  interpose  many  objections  to  a  general 
confederation,  such  as  was  proposed.  Therefore,  the 
letter  was  an  argumentative  one,  and  endeavored  to  show 
them  that  the  plan  proposed  was  the  best  which  could  be 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  all.  It  concluded  with 
the  following  impressive  admonition  : — 

"  We  have  reason  to  regret  the  time  which  has  elapsed 
in  preparing  this  plan  for  consideration.  With  additional 
solicitude,  we  look  forward  to  that  which  must  be  neces 
sarily  spent  before  it  can  be  ratified.  Every  motive 


326  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

loudly  calls  upon  us  to  hasten  its  conclusion.  More  thau 
any  other  consideration  it  will  confound  our  foreign 
enemies,  defeat  the  flagitious  practices  of  the  disaffected, 
strengthen  and  confirm  our  friends,  support  our  public 
credit,  restore  the  value  of  our  money,  enable  us  to  main 
tain  our  fleets  and  armies,  and  add  weight  and  respect  to 
our  councils  at  home,  and  to  our  treaties  abroad.  In 
short,  this  salutary  measure  can  no  longer  be  deferred. 
It  seems  essential  to  our  very  existence  as  a  free  people  ; 
and  without  it,  we  may  soon  be  constrained  to  bid  adieu 
to  independence,  to  liberty,  and  to  safety  —  blessings 
which  from  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  the  favor  of  our 
Almighty  Creator  visibly  manifested  in  our  protection, 
we  have  reason  to  expect,  if  in  an  humble  dependence 
on  his  divine  providence,  we  strenuously  exert  the  means 
which  are  placed  in  our  power." 

Notwithstanding  this  pathetic  appeal,  and  the  general 
feeling  that  something  must  be  speedily  done,  the  state 
legislatures  were  slow  to  adopt  the  Articles.  In  the  first 
place,  they  did  not  seem  to  accord  with  the  prevailing 
sentiment  of  the  people,  as  set  forth  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence;  and  in  many  things  that  Declaration 
and  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  manifestly  anti- 
podent.  The  former  was  based  upon  declared  right ;  the 
foundation  of  the  latter  was  asserted  power.  The  former 
was  based  upon  a  superintending  Providence,  and  the 
inalienable  rights  of  man  ;  the  latter  rested  upon  the 
"sovereignty  of  declared  power  —  one  ascending  for  the 
foundation  of  human  government,  to  the  laws  of  nature 
and  of  nature's  God,  written  upon  the  heart  of  man — the 
other  resting  upon  the  basis  of  human  institutions,  and 
prescriptive  law,  and  colonial  charters."*  Again,  the  sys 
tem  of  representation  proposed,  was  highly  objectionable, 

*  John  Quincy  Adams'  Jubilee  Discourse,  1839. 


ARTICLES    OP    CONFEDERATION.  327 

because  each  state  was  entitled  to  the  same  voice  in 
Congress,  whatever  might  be  the  difference  in  popula 
tion.  But  the  most  objectionable  feature  of  all  was,  that 
the  question  of  the  limits  of  the  several  states,  and  also  in 
whom  was  vested  the  control  or  possession  of  the  Crown- 
lands,  was  not  only  unadjusted,  but  wholly  unnoticed. 
These  and  other  defects,  caused  most  of  the  states  to 
hesitate  at  first,  to  adopt  the  Articles,  and  several  of  them 
for  a  long  time  utterly  refused  to  accept  them. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  June,  1778,  Congress  pro 
ceeded  to  consider  the  objections  of  the  states  to  the  Arti 
cles  of  Confederation,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  the 
same  month,  a  form  of  ratification  was  adopted  and 
ordered  to  be  engrossed  upon  parchment,  with  a  view 
that  the  same  should  be  signed  by  such  delegates  as  were 
instructed  so  to  do  by  their  respective  legislatures. 

On  the  ninth  of  July,  the  delegates  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  signed 
the  Articles.  The  delegates  from  New  Jersey,  Delaware 
"and  Maryland  were  not  yet  empowered  to  ratify  and 
sign.  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  were  not  represented, 
and  the  ratification  of  New  York  was  conditional  that  all 
the  other  states  should  ratify.  The  delegates  from  North 
Carolina  signed  the  articles  on  the  twenty-first  of  July, 
those  of  Georgia  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  same  month, 
those  of  New  Jersey  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  November, 
and  those  of  Delaware  on  the  twenty-second  of  February 
and  fifth  of  May,  1779.  Maryland  still  firmly  refused  to 
ratify,  until  the  question  of  the  conflicting  claims  of  the 
Union  and  of  the  separate  states  to  the  Crown-lands, 
should  be  fully  adjusted.  This  point  was  finally  settled 
by  cessions  of  the  claiming  states  to  the  United  States, 
of  all  the  unsettled  and  unappropriated  lands  for  the  bene 
fit  of  the  whole  Union.  This  cession  of  the  Crown-lands 


328  ARTICLES    OF    CONFEDERATION. 

to  the  Union,  originated  the  Territorial  System,  and  the 
erection  of  the  North  Western  Territory  into  a  distinct 
government  similar  to  the  existing  states,  having  a  local 
legislature  of  its  own.  The  insuperable  objection  of 
Maryland  having  been  removed  by  the  settlement  of  this 
question,  her  delegates  signed  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion  on  the  first  day  of  March,  1781,  four  years  and  four 
months  after  they  were  adopted  by  Congrers.  By  this 
act  of  Maryland,  they  became  the  organic  law  of  the 
Union,  and  on  the  second  of  March,  Congress1  wrsembied 
under  the  new  powers. 


THE   FEDERAL  CONSTITUTION. 


IT  was  early  perceived  that  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
ti>n  conferred  powers  upon  Congress  quite  inadequate  to 
the  objects  of  an  effective  National  Government.  That 
body,  according  to  the  terms  of  those  Articles,  possessed 
no  power  to  liquidate  debts  incurred  during  the  war,*  it 
had  the  privilege  only  of  recommending  to  the  several 
States,  the  payment  thereof.  This  recommendation  was 
tardily  complied  with,f  and  Congress  possessed  no  power 
to  compel  the  States  to  obey  its  mandates.  To  a  great 
extent,  the  people  lost  all  regard  for  the  authority  of 
Congress,  and  the  commercial  affairs  of  the  country  be 
came  wretchedly  deranged.  In  truth,  everything  seemed 
to  be  tending  toward  utter  chaos  soon  after  peace  in  1783, 
and  the  leading  minds  of  the  Revolution,  in  view  of  in 
creasing  and  magnified  evils,  and  the  glaring  defects  of 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  were  turned  to  a  consider 
ation  of  a  plan  for  a  closer  union  of  the  states,  and  for  a 
general  government  founded  on  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  from  which  the  Confedera 
tion  in  question  widely  departed. 

The  sagacious  mind  of  Washington  perceived  with 
intense  anxiety  the  tendency  toward  ruin  of  that  fair 
fabric  which  his  prowess  had  helped  to  rear,  and  he  took 
the  initial  step  toward  the  adoption  of  measures  which 

*  The  g.-.meral  government;  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  was  burdened  with 
a  foreign  debt  of  eight  millions  of  dollars,  and  a  domestic  debt  of  about  thirty 
millions,  due  to  the  army  and  to  other  American  citizens. 

t  During  fourteen  months,  only  $482,890  were  paid  into  the  public  treasury 
and  the  foreign  interest  was  paid  by  a  fresh  loan  from  Holland. 


330      CONSTITUTION  O/  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

finally  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  present  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States.  Washington  had  contemplated 
a  scheme  for  uniting  the  Potomac  with  the  Ohio,  and 
through  his  influence,  the  legislatures  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland  were  induced  to  send  commissioners  to  Alex 
andria  in  March,  1785,  to  deliberate  upon  the  subject. 
During  their  stay  at  Mount  Vernon  they  devised  another 
commission  to  establish  a  general  tariff  on  imports,  and 
to  mature  other  commercial  regulations.  This  conven 
tion  was  held  at  Annapolis,  in  September,  1786,  but  only 
five  states  were  represented — Virginia,  Delaware,  Penn 
sylvania,  New  Jersey  and  New  York.*  The  chief  ob 
ject  of  the  convention  was  to  consult  on  the  best  means 
of  remedying  the  defects  of  the  Federal  government. 
The  delegates  met  on  the  eleventh,  and  by  a  unanimous 
vote,  chose  John  Dickinson  chairman.  After  a  full  inter 
change  of  sentiments,  they  agreed  that  a  committee 
should  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  draft  of  a  report  to  be 
made  to  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states  then  repre 
sented.  On  the  fourteenth  of  September,  the  following 
report  was  submitted  : — 

To  the  honorable  the  legislatures  of  Virginia,  Delaware, 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  the  commis 
sioners  from  the  said  states  respectively,  assembled  at 
Annapolis,  humbly  beg  leave  to  report  : — 
That,  pursuant  to  their  several  appointments,  they  met 
at  Annapolis,  in  the  state  of  Maryland,  on  the  eleventh 
day  of  September  instant,  and  having  proceeded  to  a 
communication  of  their  powers,  they  found  that  the  states 
of  Now  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  had,  in  sub- 

*.  The  names  of  the  members  of  the  Convention  were  as  follows  : — New  York, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Egbert  Benson  ;  New  Jersey,  Abraham  Clark,  William  C. 
Houston,  James  Schureman  ;  Pennsylvania,  Tench  Coxe  ;  Delaware,  George  Read, 
John  Dickinson,  Richard  Basset;  Virginia,  Edmund  Randolph,  James  Madison 
jr.,  St.  George  Tucker. 


CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES.      331 

stance,  and  nearly  in  the  same  terras,  authorized  their 
respective  commissioners  "to  meet  such  commissioners 
as  were  or  might  be  appointed  by  the  other  states  in  the 
Union,  at  such  time  and  place  as  should  be  agreed  upon 
by  the  said  commissioners,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
trade  and  commerce  of  the  United  States,  to  consider 
how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their  commercial  intercourse 
and  regulations  might  be  necessary  to  their  common  in 
terest  and  permanent  harmony,  and  to  report  to  the  several 
states  such  an  act  relative  to  this  great  object,  as,  when 
unanimously  ratified  by  them,  would  enable  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  effectually  to  provide  for 
the  same." 

That  the  state  of  Delaware  had  given  similar  powers 
to  their  commissioners,  with  this  difference  only,  that  the 
act  to  be  framed  in  virtue  of  these  powers,  is  required  to 
be  reported  "to  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assem 
bled,  to  be  agreed  to  by  them,  and  confirmed  by  the 
legislature  of  every  state." 

That  the  state  of  New  Jersey  had  enlarged  the  object 
of  their  appointment,  empowering  their  commissioners 
"  to  consider  how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their  commer 
cial  regulations,  and  other  important  matters,  might,  be 
necessary  to  the  common  interest  and  permanent  harmony 
of  the  several  states ;"  and  to  report  such  an  act  on  the 
subject,  as,  when  ratified  by  them,  "  would  enable  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  effectually  to  pro 
vide  for  the  exigencies  of  the  Union." 

That  appointments  of  commissioners  have  also  been 
made  by  the  states  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  and  North  Carolina,  none  of  whom,  how 
ever,  have  attended  :  but  that  no  information  has  been 
received  by  your  commissioners  of  any  appointment 
having  been  made  by  the  states  of  Connecticut,  Mary 
land,  South  Carolina,  or  Georgia. 


332      CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

That  the  express  terms  of  the  powers  to  your  commis 
sioners  supposing  a  deputation  from  all  the  states,  and 
having  for  object  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  your  commissioners  did  not  conceive  it  advisable 
to  proceed  on  the  business  of  their  mission  under  the  cir 
cumstances  of  so  partial  and  defective  a  representation. 

Deeply  impressed,  however,  with  the  magnitude  and 
importance  of  the  object  confided  to  them  on  this  occa 
sion,  your  commissioners  cannot  forbear  to  indulge  an 
expression  of  their  earnest  and  unanimous  wish,  that 
speedy  measures  may  be  taken  to  effect  a  general  meet 
ing  of  the  states,  in  a  future  convention,  for  the  same  and 
such  other  purposes  as  the  situation  of  public  affairs  may. 
be  found  to  require. 

If,  in  expressing  this  wish,  or  in  intimating  any  other 
sentiment,  your  commissioners  should  seem  to  exceed  the 
strict  bounds  of  their  appointment,  they  entertain  a  full 
confidence,  that  a  conduct  dictated  by  an  anxiety  for  the 
welfare  of  the  United  States,  will  not  fail  to  receive  an 
indulgent  construction, 

In  this  persuasion,  your  commissioners  submit  an 
opinion,  that  the  idea  of  extending  the  powers  of  their 
deputies  to  other  objects  than  those  of  commerce,  which 
has  been  adopted  by  the  state  of  New  Jersey,  was  an 
improvement  on  the  original  plan,  and  will  deserve  to  bfc 
incorporated  into  that  of  a  future  convention.  They  are 
the  more  naturally  led  to  this  conclusion,  as,  in  the  course 
of  their  reflections  on  the  subject,  they  have  been  induced 
to  think  that  the  power  of  regulating  trade  is  of  such  com 
prehensive  extent,  and  will  enter  so  far  into  the  general 
system  of  the  federal  government,  that  to  give  it  efficacy, 
and  to  obviate  questions  and  doubts  concerning  its  pre 
cise  nature  and  limits,  may  require  a  correspondent  ad« 
justment  of  other  parts  of  the  federal  system. 

That  there  a-e  important  defects  in  the  system  of  the 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  333 

federal  government,  is  acknowledged  by  the  acts  of  all 
those  states  which  have  concurred  in  the  present  meet 
ing  ;  that  the  defects,  upon  a  closer  examination,  may  be 
found  greater  and  more  numerous  than  even  these  acts 
imply,  is  at  least  so  far  probable,  from  the  embarrass 
ments  which  characterize  the  present  state  of  our  national 
affairs,  foreign  and  domestic,  as  may  reasonably  be  sup 
posed  to  merit  a  deliberate  and  candid  discussion,  in  some 
mode  which  will  unite  the  sentiments  and  councils  of  all 
the  states.  In  the  choice  of  the  mode,  your  commis 
sioners  are  of  opinion  that  a  Convention  of  deputies  from 
the  different  states,  for  the  special  and  sole  purpose  of 
entering  into  this  investigation,  and  digesting  a  plan  for 
supplying  such  defects  as  may  be  discovered  to  exist,  will 
be  entitled  to  a  preference,  from  considerations  which  will 
occur  without  being  particularized. 

Your  commissioners  decline  an  enumeration  of  those 
national  circumstances  on  which  their  opinion  respecting 
the  propriety  of  a  future  convention,  with  more  enlarged 
powers,  is  founded ;  as  it  would  be  a  useless  intrusion  of 
facts  and  observations,  most  of  which  have  been  fre 
quently  the  subject  of  public  discussion,  and  none  of 
which  can  have  escaped  the  penetration  of  those  to  whom 
they  would,  in  this  instance,  be  addressed.  They  are, 
however,  of  a  nature  so  serious,  as,  in  the  view  of  your 
commissioners,  to  render  the  situation  of  the  United 
States  delicate  and  critical,  calling  for  an  exertion  of  the 
united  virtue  and  wisdom  of  all  the  members  of  the  con 
federacy. 

Under  this  impression,  your  commissioners,  with  the 
most  respectful  deference,  beg  leave  to  suggest  their 
unanimous  conviction,  that  it  may  essentially  tend  to  ad 
vance  the  interests  of  the  Union,  if  the  states,  by  whom 
they  have  been  respectively  delegated,  would  themselves 
concur,  and  use  their  endeavors  to  procure  the  concur- 


334  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

rence  of  the  other  states,  in  the  appointment  of  commis 
sioners,  to  meet  at  Philadelphia,  on  the  second  Monday 
in  May  next,  to  take  into  consideration  the  situation  of 
the  United  States,  to  devise  such  further  provisions  as 
shall  appear  to  them  necessary,  to  render  the  constitution 
of  the  federal  government  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  Union  ;  and  to  report  such  an  act  for  that  purpose,  to 
the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  as,  when  agreed 
to  by  them,  and  afterward  confirmed  by  the  legislature 
of  every  state,  will  effectually  provide  for  the  same. 

Though  your  commissioners  could  not,  with  propriety, 
address  these  observations  and  sentiments  to  any  but  the 
states  they  have  the  honor  to  represent,  they  hp»-»»  never 
theless  concluded,  from  motives  of  respect,  to  transmit 
copies  of  this  report  to  the  United  States,  in  Congress 
assembled,  and  to  the  executives  of  the  other  states. 

By  order  of  the  Commissioneis. 

Dated  at  Annapolis,  September  14th,  1786. 


This  report  was  adopted,  and  transmitted  to  Congress. 
On  the  twenty-first  of  February,  the  committee  of  that 
body,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Dane,  Varnum,  S.  M.  Mitchell, 
Smith,  Cadwallader,  Irvine,  N.  Mitchell,  Forrest,  Gray- 
son,  Blount,  Bull,  and  Few,  to  whom  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  was  referred,  reported  thereon,  and  offered 
the  following  resolutions,  viz. — 

Congress  having  had  under  consideration  the  letter  of 
John  Dickinson,  Esq.,  chairman  of  the  commissioners 
who  assembled  at  Annapolis,  during  the  last  year  ;  ulso 
the  proceedings  of  the  said  commissioners,  and  entirely 
coinciding  with  them,  as  to  the  inefficiency  of  the  federal 
government,  and  the  necessity  of  devising  such  further 
provisions  as  shall  render  the  same  adequate  to  the  ex 
igencies  of  the  Union,  do  strongly  recommend  to  the  dif 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      335 

ferent  legislatures  to  send  forward  delegates,  to  meet  the 
proposed  convention,  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  next, 
at  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

The  delegates  for  the  state  of  New  York  thereupon 
laid  before  Congress  instructions  which  they  had  received 
from  their  constituents,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  said  in 
structions,  moved  to  postpone  the  further  consideration 
of  the  report,  in  order  to  take  up  the  following  proposi 
tion,  viz. — 

"  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  states  composing  the 
Union,  that  a  convention  of  representatives  from  the  said 
states  respectively,  be  held  at ,  on ,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  revising  the  articles  of  confederation  and  perpet 
ual  union  between  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
reporting  to  the  United  States,  in  Congress  assembled, 
and  to  the  states  respectively,  such  alterations  and  amend 
ments  of  the  said  articles  of  confederation,  as  the  repre 
sentatives,  met  in  such  convention,  shall  judge  proper  and 
necessary,  to  render  them  adequate  to  the  preservation 
and  support  of  the  Union." 

On  taking  the  question,  only  three  states  voted  in  the 
affirmative,  and  me  resolution  was  negatived. 

A  motion  was  then  made  by  the  delegates  for  Massa 
chusetts,  to  postpone  the  further  consideration  of  the 
report,  in  order  to  take  into  consideration  a  motion  which 
they  read  in  their  place ;  this  being  agreed  to,  the  motion 
of  the  delegates  for  Massachusetts  was  taken  up,  and 
being  amended  was  agreed  to,  as  follows  : — 

"  Whereas,  there  is  provision  in  the  articles  of  con 
federation  and  perpetual  union,  for  making  alterations 
therein,  by  the  assent  of  a  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states;  and  whereas, 
experience  hath  evinced  that  there  are  defects  in  the  pre 
sent  confederation,  as  a  mean  to  remedy  which,  several 
of  the  states  and  particularly  the  state  of  New  York,  bj 


336  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE     UNITED    STATES. 

express  instructions  to  their  delegates  in  Congress,  have 
suggested  a  convention  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  the 
following  resolution ;  and  such  convention  appearing  to 
be  the  most  probable  means  of  establishing  in  these 
states,  a  firm  national  government : — 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  •'  Congress,  it  is  ex 
pedient  that,  on  the  second  Monday  in  May  next,  a  con 
vention  of  delegates  who  shall  have  been  appointed  by 
the  several  states,  be  held  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  sole 
and  express  purpose  of  revising  the  articles  of  confedera 
tion,  and  reporting  to  Congress  and  the  several  legisla 
tures,  such  alterations  and  provisions  therein,  as.  shall, 
when  agreed  to  in  Congress,  and  confirmed  by  the 
states,  render  the  federal  constitution  adequate  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  government,  and  the  preservation  of  the 
Union." 

This  preamble  and  resolution  were  immediately  trans 
mitted  to  the  several  speakers  of  State  legislative  assem 
blies,  and  they  were  laid  before  the  representatives  of  the 
people  in  all  the  States  of  the  confederacy.  "While  a  feel 
ing  prevailed  generally  that  something  must  be  done  to 
avert  the  threatened  anarchy,  toward  wmch  governmental 
operations  were  tending,  great  caution  was  observed  in  the 
delegation  of  powers  and  in  instruction  to  those  who 
should  be  appointed  members  of  the  proposed  convention. 
However,  in  compliance  with  the  recommendation  of  Con 
gress,  delegates  were  chosen  in  the  several  states,  for  the 
purpose  of  revising  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and 
assembled  in  Philadelphia  on  the  second  Monday  in  May, 
1787.  All  the  states  were  represented  except  Rhode 
Island.*  Washington  who  was  a  delegate  from  Virginia, 
was  chosen  president  of  the  convention.  Able  statesmen 
were  his  associates,  and  they  entered  earnestly  upon  their 

*  For  the  names  of  the  Delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention,  see  Ap 
pendix. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  337 

duties.  They  had  not  proceeded  far,  however,  before 
they  perceived  that  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  so 
radically  defective  and  their  powers  so  inadequate  to  the 
wants  of  the  country,  that  instead  of  trying  to  amend  the 
code  of  the  old  Confederation,  they  went  diligently  at 
work  to  form  a  new  Constitution.  Edmund  Randolph 
submitted  a  seiies  of  resolutions  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
May,  which  embodied  the  plan  of  a  new  Constitution.  It 
was  proposed  to  form  a  general  government  consisting  of  a 
legislature,  executive,  and  judiciary ;  and  a  revenue,  army 
and  navy  independent  of  the  control  of  the  several  states. 
It  was  to  have  power  to  conduct  war,  establish  peace, 
make  treaties ;  to  have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  coining 
money,  and  the  supervision  of  all  national  transactions. 
Upon  general  principles  this  plan  was  highly  approved, 
but  in  that  convention  there  were  many  ardent  and  pure 
patriots,  who  looked  upon  the  preservation  of  State 
Sovereignty  as  essential,  and  regarded  this  proposed 
form  of  government,  as  a  radical  infringement  upon  those 
rights.  They  therefore  violently  opposed  it. 

Another  plan  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Patterson,  a  dele 
gate  from  New  Jersey.  It  enlarged  the  power  of  Con 
gress,  but  left  it  resources  and  supplies  to  be  found 
through  the  medium  of  the  State  governments.  This 
plan  had  that  serious  defect  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion, — a  dependence  of  the  general  government  upon  the 
several  states,  for  its  vitality.  On  the  12th  of  Septem 
ber,  the  committee  to  "  revise  the  Articles,"  submitted 
the  following  resolution  to  Congress,  which  was  adopted  : 

"  Resolved  unanimously,  That  the  said  report,  with  the 
resolutions  and  letters  accompanying  the  same,  be  trans 
mitted  to  the  several  legislatures,  in  order  to  be  submitted 
to  a  convention  of  delegates  chosen  in  each  State  by  the 
people  thereof,  in  conformity  to  the  resolves  of  the  con 
vention,  made  and  provided  in  that  case." 

15  * 


338         CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  following  is  a  certified  copy  of  the  Constitution 
sent  to  the  various  states  for  ratification,  together  with  all 
its  amendments  subsequently  made,  arid  profusely  an 
notated.  It  is  copied  from,  and  compared  with,  the  Roll 
in  the  Department  of  State. 


WE  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic 
tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote 
the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish 
this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

ARTICLE    I. 

SECTION  1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall 
be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  which 
shall  consist  of  a  senate  and  house  of  representatives. 

SECTION  2.  The  house  of  representatives  shall  be  com 
posed  of  members  chosen  every  second  year  by  the  peo 
ple  of  the  several  states,  and  the  electors  in  each  state 
shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the 
most  numerous  branch  of  the  state  legislature. 

No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been 
seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  in  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  states  which  may  be  included  within 
this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  numbers,*  which 

*  The  constitutional  provision,  that  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  th« 
several  States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  to  be  ascertained  by  a  cen- 
BUS,  was  not  intended  to  restrict  the  power  of  imposing  direct  taxes  to  St*t*« 
only. — Loughborough  vs.  Blake,  5,  Wheaton,  319. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  339 

shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of 
free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three  fifths  o* 
all  other  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be 
made  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within  every  subse 
quent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  by 
law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  ex 
ceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand,*  but  each  state  shall 
have  at  least  one  representative  ;  and  until  such  enume 
ration  shall  be  made,  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  shall 
be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five, 
New  York  six,  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania  eight, 
Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Caro 
lina  five,  South  Carolina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from 
•any  state,  the  executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs 
of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies. 

The  house  of  representatives  shall  choose  their  speaker 
and  other  officers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  im 
peachment. 

SECTION  3.  The  senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
composed  of  two  senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by  the 
legislature  thereof,  for  six  years;  and  each  senator  shall 
have  one  vote.t 

Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  conse 
quence  of  the  first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as 
equally  as  may  be  into  three  classes.  The  seats  of  the 
senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expira 
tion  Df  the  second  year,  of  the  second  class  at  the  expi 
ration  of  the  fourth  year,  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  ex- 

*  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  124 ;  iii.,  261 ;   iv.,  332.    Acts  of  17tft 
Congress,  1st  session,  chap.  x. ;  and  of  the  22d  and  27th  Congress, 
t  See  art.  v.,  clause  1. 


340  CONSTITUT  ON    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

piration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one  third  may  be  chosen 
every  second  year ;  and  if  vacancies  happen  by  resigna 
tion  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of 
any  state,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature, 
which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

No  person  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  at 
tained  to  the  age  of  thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

The  vice-president  of  the  United  States  shall  be  presi 
dent  of  the  senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote  unless  they  be 
equally  divided. 

The  senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers,  and  also  a 
president,  pro  tempore,  in  the  absence  of  the  vice-presi 
dent,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of  president  of 
the  United  States. 

The  senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  im 
peachments  ;  When  sitting  for  that  purpose  they  shall  be 
on  oath  or  affirmation.  When  the  president  of  the  United 
States  is  tried,  the  chief  justice  shall  preside ;  And  no 
person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  concurrence  of  two 
thirds  of  the  members  present. 

Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend 
further  than  to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to 
hold  and  enjoy  any  office  of  honor,  trust  or  profit  under 
the  United  States  ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall  neverthe 
less  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment  and 
punishment,  according  to  law. 

SECTION  4.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding 
elections  for  senators  and  representatives,  shall  be  pre 
scribed  in  each  state  by  the  legislature  thereof:  but  the 
Congress  may  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such 
regulations,  except  as  to  the  places  of  choosing  senators 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      34? 

The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
year,  and  such  meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  unless  they  shall  by  law  appoint  a  different 
day. 

SECTION  5.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elec 
tions,  returns  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and 
a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business ; 
but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day,  and 
may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent 
members,  ir  such  manner,  and  under  such  penalties  as 
each  house  may  provide. 

Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,* 
punish  its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a  member. 

Each  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings, 
and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such 
parts  as  may  in  their  judgment  require  secrecy  ;  and  the 
yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house  on  any  ques 
tion  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one  fifth  of  those  present,  be 
entered  on  the  journal. 

*  To  an  action  of  trespass  against  the  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  house  of  repre 
sentatives  of  the  United  States  for  assault  and  battery  and  false  imprisonment,  it 
is  a  legal  justification  and  bar  to  plead  that  a  Congr  5ss  was  held  and  sitting  during 
the  period  of  the  trespasses  complained,  and  that  the  house  of  representatives 
had  resolved  that  the  plaintiff' had  been  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  privileges  of  the 
house,  and  of  a  high  contempt  of  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  same  ;  and  had 
ordered  that  the  speaker  should  issue  his  warrant  to  the  sergeant-at-arms,  com 
manding  him  to  take  the  plaintiff  into  custody  wherever  to  be  found,  and  to  hare 
him  before  the  said  house  to  answer  to  the  said  charge;  and  that  the  speaker  did 
accordingly  issue  such  a  warrant,  reciting  the  said  resolution  and  order,  and  com 
manding  the  sergeant-at-arms  to  take  the  plaintiff  into  custody,  &c.,  and  deliver 
the  said  warrant  to  the  defendant :  by  virtue  of  which  warrant  the  defendant  ar 
rested  the  plaintiff',  and  conveyed  him  to  the  bar  of  the  house,  where  he  was  heard 
in  his  defence  touching  the  matter  of  said  charge,  and  the  examination  being  ad 
journed  from  day  to  day,  and  the  house  having  ordered  the  plaintiff  to  be  de 
tained  in  custody,  he  was  accordingly  detained  by  the  defendant  until  he  was 
finally  adjudged  to  be  guilty  and  convicted  of  the  charge  aforesaid,  and  ordered 
to  be  forthwith  brought  to  the  bar  and  reprimanded  by  the  speaker,  and  then  dis 
charged  from  custody,  and  after  being  thus  reprimanded,  was  actually  discharged 
from  the  arrest  and  custody  aforesaid.  —  Anderson  vs  Dunn,  6  IVJieaton,  204. 


342  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Neither  house,  during  the  session  of  Congress  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than 
three  days,  nor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in  which  the 
two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

SECTION  6.  The  senators  and  representatives  shall  re 
ceive  a  compensation  for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained 
by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
They  shall  in  all  cases,  except  treason,  felony  and  breach 
of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during  their  at 
tendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  houses,  and  in 
going  to  and  returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any  speech 
or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in 
any  other  place. 

No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for 
which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  un 
der  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  which  shall  have 
been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been 
increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  person  holding  any 
office  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  house  during  his  continuance  in  office. 

SECTION  7.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate 
in  the  house  of  representatives  ;  but  the  senate  may  pro 
pose  or  concur  with  amendments  as  on  other  bills. 

Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  house  of  repre 
sentatives  arid  the  senate,  shall,  before  it  become  a  law,  be 
presented  to  the  president  of  the  United  States;  if  he  ap 
prove  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall  return  it,  with  his 
objections  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated, 
who  shall  enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal, 
and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such  reconsideration 
twc  thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it 
shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other 
house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if 
approved  by  two  thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a 
law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  h  >uses  shall 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  34b 

be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the 
persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be  entered  on 
the  jouinal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall 
not  be  returned  by  the  president  within  ten  days  (Sun 
day  excepted)  after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him, 
the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed 
it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  adjournment  prevent  its 
return,  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote  to  which  the  concur 
rence  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  may  be 
necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall  be 
presented  to  the  president  of  the  United  States ;  and  be 
fore  the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him, 
or  being  disapproved  by  him  shall  be  repassed  by  two 
thirds  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives,  accord 
ing  to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of 
a  bill. 

SECTION  8.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  lay  and 
collect  taxes,*  duties,  imposts  and  excises,  to  pay  the 
debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general 
welfare  of  the  United  States  ;  but  all  duties,  imposts  and 
excises,  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States  ; 

To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States; 

To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among 
the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes  ; 

To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization, t  and 
uniform  laws  on  the  subject  of  bankruptcies^  throughout 
the  United  States  ; 

*  The  power  of  Congress  to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  <fec.,  extends  to  the  Dis 
trict  of  Columbia,  and  to  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  to  the 
states.  — Loughborough,  vs.  Blake,  5  Wheaton,  318.  But  Congress  are  not  bound 
to  extend  a  direct  tax  to  the  district  and  territories.  —  Id.,  318. 

t  Under  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  power  of  naturalization  is  ex 
clusively  in  Congress.—  Chivac  vs.  Chivac,  2  Wliealon,  259. 

See  'aws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  30;  ii.,  261;  iii.,  71 ;  iii.,  288  ;  iii.,  400  i 
»v.,  564  ;  vi.,  32. 

1  Since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  a  state  has  authority 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  for* 
eign  coin,  and  fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures; 

To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  se 
curities  and  current  coin  of  the  United  States  ; 

To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads  ; 

To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  bj 
securing  for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors,  the 
exclusive  right  to  their  respective  writings  and  dis 
coveries  ; 

To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  court ; 

To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed 
on  the  high  seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations;* 

To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal, 
and  make  rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water; 

To  raise  and  support  armies,  but  no  appropriation  of 
money  to  that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two 
years  ; 

To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy  ; 

To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces  ; 

To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the 
laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  insurrections  and  repel  in 
vasions  ; 

io  pass  a  bankrupt  law,  provided  such  law  does  not  impair  the  obligation  of  con 
tracts  within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  (art.  i.,  sect.  10),  and  provided  there 
be  no  act  of  Congress  in  force  to  establish  a  uniform  system  of  bankruptcy  con 
flicting  with  such  law.  —  Sturgesa  vs.  Crovminsfdeld,  4   Wheoton,  122,  192. 
See  laws  United  States,  vol,  ii.,  chap.  368,  sect.  2 ;  Hi.,  66 ;  iii.,  158. 

*  The  act  of  the  3d  March,  1819,  chap.  76,  sect.  5,  referring  to  the  law  of  nations 
for  a  definition  of  the  crime  of  piracy,  is  a  constitutional  exercise  of  the  power  of 
Congress  to  define  and  punish  that  crime. — United  States  vs.  Smith,  5  Wlieaton, 
153,  157. 

Congress  have  power  to  provide  for  the  punishment  of  offences  committed  by 
persons  on  board  a  ship-of-war  of  the  United  States,  wherever  that  ship  may  lie. 
But  Congress  have  not  exercised  that  power  in  the  case  of  a  ship  lying  in  the 
waters  of  the  United  State.?,  the  words  within  fort,  arsenal,  dockyard,  magazine, 
or  in  any  other  place  or  district  of  country  under  the  sole  and  exclusive  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  third  section  of  the  act  of  1790,  chap.  9,  not  extending 
to  a  ship-of-war,  but  only  to  objects  in  their  nature,  fixed  and  territorial.—  United 
State*  vs.  Bevans,  3  Wheaton,  890. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      345 

To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining 
the  militia,  and  for  governing  such  part  v  f  them  as  may 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  reserv 
ing  to  the  states  respectively,  the  appointment  of  the  offi 
cers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia  according  to 
the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress  ;* 

To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever,  over  such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square) 
as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  states,  and  the  accept 
ance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States, t  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all 
places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the 
state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts, 
magazines,  arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  build 
ings  ; — And 

To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper 
for  carrying  into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all 
other  powers  vested  by  this  constitution  in  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  offi 
cer  thereof.f 

*  Vide  amendments,  art.  ii. 

t  Congress  has  authority  to  impose  a  direct  tax  on  the  District  of  Columbia,  in 
proportion  to  the  census  directed  to  be  taken  by  the  constitution.  —  Loughborough 
vs.  Blake,  5  Wheaton,  317. 

But  Congress  are  not  bound  to  extend  a  direct  tax  to  the  district  and  territo 
ries.  —  Id.,  322. 

The  power  of  Congress  to  exercise  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  whatso 
ever  within  the  District  of  Columbia,  includes  the  power  of  taxing  it.— Id,  324 

}  Whenever  the  terms  in  which  a  power  is  granted  by  the  constitution  to  Con 
gress,  or  whenever  the  nature  of  the  power  itself  require*  that  it  should  be  exer 
cised  exclusively  by  Congress,  the  subject  is  as  completely  taken  away  from  the 
state  legislatures  as  if  they  had  been  expressly  forbidden  to  act  on  it.— Sturgessvs. 
Croirninshield,  4  Wheaton,  193. 

Congress  has  power  to  incorporate  a  bank. — McCtdloch  v*.  State  of  Maryland, 
4  Wheaton,3l6. 

The  power  of  establishing  a  corporation  is  not  a  distinct  sovereign  power  or 
end  of  government,  but  only  the  means  of  carrying  into  effect  other  powers  which 
are  sovereign.  Whenever  it  becomes  an  appropriate  means  of  exercising  nny  of 
the  powers  given  by  the  constitution  to  the  government  of  the  Union,  it  may  be 
exercised  by  that  government. — Id.,  411, 421. 

if  a  certain  means  to  carry  into  effect  any  of  the  rowers  expresa1v  given  lj  tha 
15* 


346      CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

SECTION  9.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  per« 
sons  as  any  of  the  states  now  existing  shall  think  proper 
to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the  Congress  prior  to 

constitution  to  the  government  of  the  Union,  be  an  appropriate  measure,  not  pro 
hibited  by  the  constitution,  the  degree  of  its  necessity  is  a  question  of  legislative 
discretion,  not  of  judicial  cognizance, — Id  ,  421. 

Tbs  act  cf  the  19th  of  April,  18 1 6,  chap.  44,  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the 
bank  of  the  United  States  is  a  law  made  in  pursuance  of  the  constitution. — Id.,  424. 
The  bank  of  the  United   States  has    constitutionally  a  right  to  establish  its 
branches  or  offices  of  discount  and  deposite  within  any  state. — Id.t  424. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  similar  to  the  articles 
of  confederation,  which  excludes  incidental  or  implied  powers. — Id.,  403. 

If  the  end  be  legitimate,  and  within  the  scope  of  the  constitution,  all  the  means 
which  are  appropriate,  which  are  plainly  adapted  to  that  end,  and  which  are  not 
prohibited,  may  constitutionally  be  employed  to  carry  it  into  effect. — Id.,  421. 

The  powers  granted  to  Congress  are  not  exclusive  of  similar  powers  existing 
in  the  states,  unless  where  the  constitution  has  expressly  in  terms  given  an  exclu> 
sive  power  to  Congress,  or  the  exercise  of  a  like  power  is  prohibited  to  the  states, 
or  there  is  a  direct  repugnancy  or  incompatibility  in  the  exercise  of  it  by  tha 
elates. — Houston  vs  Moore,  5  Wheaton  49. 

The  example  of  the  first  class  is  to  be  found  in  the  exclusive  legislation  dele 
gated  to  Congress  over  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the 
state-  in  which  the  same  shall  be  for  forts,  arsenals,  dockyards,  &c.  Of  the  se 
cond  class,  the  prohibition  of  a  state  to  coin  money  or  emit  bills  of  credit.  Of 
the  third  class,  the  power  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  the 
delegation  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction. — Id.,  49. 

In  all  other  classes  of  cases  the  states  retain  concurrent  authority  with  Con 
gress.—  Id.,  48. 

But  in  cases  of  concurrent  authority,  where  the  laws  of  the  states  and  of  the 
Union  are  in  direct  and  manifest  collision  on  the  same  subject,  those  of  the 
Union  being  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  are  of  paramount  authority,  and  the 
state  so  far,  and  so  far  only  as  such  incompatibility  exists,  must  necessarily 
yield.— Id.,  49. 

The  state  within  which  a  branch  of  the  United  States  bank  may  be  established, 
can  not,  without  violating  the  constitution,  tax  that  branch. — McCulloch  vs  Statt 
of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton,  425. 

The  state  governments  have  no  right  to  tax  any  of  the  constitutional  means 
employed  by  the  government  of  the  Union  to  execute  its  constitutional  powers. — 
Id.,  427. 

The  states  have  no  power  by  taxation,  or  otherwise,  to  retard,  impede,  burden, 
or  in  any  manner  control,  the  operation  of  the  constitutional  laws  enacted  by 
Cor.gress,  to  carry  into  effect  the  powers  vested  in  the  national  government.-' 
M.,  43G. 

This  principle  does  not  extend  to  a  tax  paid  by  the  real  property  of  the  bank 
of  the  United  States,  in  common  with  the  other  real  property  in  a  particular  state, 
nor  to  a  tax  imposed  on  the  proprietary  which  the  citizens  of  that  state  may  hold 
In  common  with  the  othor  property  of  the  same  description  throughout  the  state 
-/d.  436. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      347 

the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax 
or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  ex 
ceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  person. 

The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be 
suspended,  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion 
the  public  safety  may  require  it. 

No  bill  of  attainder  or  ex  post  facto  law  shall  be  passed. 

No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless 
in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore 
directed  to  be  taken. 

No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from 
any  state. 

No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  com 
merce  or  revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of 
another  :  nor  shall  vessels  bound  to,  or  from,  one  state, 
be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in 
consequence  of  appropriations  made  bylaw;  and  a  regu 
lar  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts  and  expendi 
tures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to 
time. 

No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States  :  And  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Con 
gress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title, 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign 
state. 

SECTION  10.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alli 
ance,  or  confederation;  grant  letters  of  marque  and  re 
prisal  ;  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of  credit ;  make  anything 
but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  ; 
pass  any  bill  of  attainder,  ex  post  facto  law,  or  law  impair 
ing  the  obligation  of  contracts,*  or  grant  any  title  of  no 
bility. 

*  Whers  a  law  is  in  its  nature  a  contract,  where  absolute  rights  hare  vested 


348  CONSTITUTION    O*'    THE     UNITED    STATES. 

No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress, 
lay  any  imposts  or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except 
what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its  in 
spection  laws  :  and  the  net  produce  of  all  duties  and  irn 
posts,  laid  by  any  state  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be  for 
the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  ;  and  all  such 
laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  the 
Congress. 

No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any 
duty  of  tonnage,  keep  troops,  or  ships-of-war  in  time  of 
peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact  with  another 

under  that  contract,  a  repeal  .of  the  law  can  not  divest  those  rights.— Fletcher  vs. 
Peck,  6  Cranch,  88. 

A  party  to  a  contract  can  not  pronounce  its  own  deed  invalid,  although  that 
party  be  a  sovereign  state. — Id.,  88. 

A  grant  is  a  contract  executed. — Id.,  89. 

A  law  annulling  conveyance  is  unconstitutional,  because  it  is  a  law  impairing 
the  obligation  of  contracts  within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States.— Id. 

The  court  will  not  declare  a  law  to  be  unconstitutional,  unless  the  opposition 
between  the  constitution  and  the  law  be  clear  and  plain.— Id.,  87. 

An  act  of  the  legislature  of  a  state,  declaring  that  certain  lands  which  should  be 
purchased  for  the  Indians  should  not  thereafter  be  subject  to  any  tax,  constituted 
a  contract  which  could  not,  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  be  rescinded  by  a  subsequent  legislative  act ;  such  rescinding  act  being 
void  under  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.— State  of  New  Jersey  vs.  Wilson, 
7  Cranch,  164. 

The  present  constitution  of  the  United  States  did  not  commence  its  operation 
until  the  first  Wednesday  in  March,  3789,  and  the  provision  in  the  constitution, 
that "  no  state  shall  make  any  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,"  does  not 
extend  to  a  state  law  enacted  before  that  day,  and  operating  upon  rights  of  pro 
perty  vesting  before  that  time.— Owings  vs.  Speed,  5  Whedton,  420,  421. 

An  act  of  a  state  legislature,  which  discharges  a  debtor  from  all  liability  for 
debts  contracted  previous  to  his  discharge,  on  his  surrendering  his  property  for 
the  benefit  of  his  creditors,  is  a  law  impairing  "the  obligations  of  contracts," 
within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  BO  far  as  it  attempts 
to  discharge  the  contract ;  and  it  makes  no  difference  in  such  a  case,  that  the  suit 
was  brought  in  a  state  court  of  the  state  of  which  both  the  parties  were  citizens 
where  the  contract  was  made,  and  the  discharge  obtained,  and  where  they  con 
tinued  to  reside  until  the  suit  was  brought.—  Farmers  and  Mechanics1  Bank  vs. 
Smith,  6  Whcaton,  131. 

The  act  of  New  York,  passed  on  the  3d  of  April,  1811  (which  not  only  liberatei 
the  person  of  the  debtor,  but  discharges  him  from  aJ  liability  for  any  debt  con 
tracted  previous  to  his  discharge,  on  his  surrendering  his  property  in  the  manne* 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      349 

state,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless 
actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II. 

SECTION  1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a 
president  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He  shall 
hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,*  and,  to 
gether  with  the  vice-president,  chpsen  for  the  same  term, 
be  elected,  as  follows  : 

Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legisla 
ture  thereof  may  direct,f  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to 
the  whole  number  of  senators  and  representatives  to 
which  the  state  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress  :  but  no 
senator  or  representative,  or  person  holding  an  office  of 
trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  elector. 


it  prescribes,)  so  far  as  it  attempts  to  discharge  the  contract,  is  a  law  impairing 
the  obligation  of  contracts  within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  is  not  a  good  plea  in  bar  of  an  action  brought  upon  such  contract. — 
Sturgess  vs.  Crowinshield,  4  Whcaton,  122,  197. 

Statutes  of  limitation  and  usury  laws,  unless  retroactive  in  their  effect,  do  not 
impair  the  obligation  of  contracts,  and  are  constitutional. — Id.t  206. 

A  state  bankrupt  or  insolvent  law  (which  not  only  liberates  the  person  of  the 
debtor,  but  discharges  him  from  all  liability  for  the  debt,)  so  far  as  it  attempts  to 
discharge  the  contract,  is  repugnant  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
it  makes  no  ditference  in  the  application  of  this  principle,  whether  the  law  was 
passed  before  or  after  the  debt  was  contracted. — McMillan  vs.  McNeill,  4  Wkea- 
ton,  209. 

The  charter  granted  by  the  British  crown  to  the  trustees  of  Dartmouth  col 
lege,  in  New  Hampshire,  in  the  year  1769,  is  a  contract  within  the  meaning  of  that 
clause  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  (art.  i.,  sect.  10)  which  declares, 
that  no  state  shall  make  any  law  impairing  the  obligation,  of  contracts.  The 
charter  was  not  dissolved  by  the  revolution. — College  vs.  Woodard,  4  Whealon,  518 

An  act  cf  the  state  legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  altering  the  charter  of  Dart 
mouth  College  in  a  material  respect,  without  the  consent  of  the  corporation,  is  an 
act  impairing  the  obligation  of  the  charter,  and  is  unconstitutional  and  void.- 
Id.,  518. 

*  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sect.  12. 

t  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109. 


350      CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

[*The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and 
vote  by  ballot  for  two  persons,  of  whom  one  at  least  shall 
not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves. 
And  they  shall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persons  voted  for, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each  ;  which  list  they  shall 
sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  the  seat  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
president  of  the  senate.  The  president  of  the  senate  shall 
in  the  presence  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representa 
tives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
votes  shall  be  the  president,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed  ;  and  if  there 
be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an 
equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  house  of  representatives 
shall  immediately  choose  by  ballot  one  of  them  for  presi 
dent;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the 
five  highest  on  the  list  the  said  house  shall  in  like  manner 
choose  the  president.  But  in  choosing  the  president,  the 
votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the  representation  from 
each  state  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  neces 
sary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case,  after  the  choice  of  the 
president,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes 
of  the  electors  shall  be  the  vice-president.  But  if  there 
should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the 
senate  shall  choose  from  them  by  ballot  the  vice-presi- 
dent.t] 

The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the 
electors, J  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
votes  ;  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the 
United  States.§ 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  adoptiojn  of  this 
constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  president  j 

*  Vide  amendments,  art.  xii. 

f  This  clause  is  annulled.     See  amendments,  art.  xii. 

f  See  laws  United  Ststes,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  104,  sect.  1;  also  law  28th  Congress. 

§  See  laws  United  States,  vtl.  ii,  chap.  109,  sect.  2. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      351 

nein.01  «hall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall 
not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been 
fourteen  years  a  resident  within  the  United  States. 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  president  from  office,  or 
of  nis  death,  resignation,*  or  inability  to  discharge  the 
powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same  shall  de 
volve  on  the  vice-president,  and  the  Congress  may  by 
law  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation  or 
inability,  both  of  the  president  and  vice-president,  decla 
ring  what  officershall  then  act  as  president,  and  such  officer 
shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a 
president  shall  be  elected. t 

The  president  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  ser 
vices,  a  compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased 
nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he  shall  have 
been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within  that  period 
any  other  emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of 
them. 

Before  he  enter  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall 
take  the  following  oa:h  or  affirmation  : — "  I  do  solemnly 
swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the  office 
of  president  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States." 

SECTION  2.  The  president  shall  be  commander-in-chief 
of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  mi 
litia  of  the  several  states,  wrhen  called  into  the  actual  service 
of  the  United  States  ;|  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  wri- 

*  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  104,  sect  11. 

t  See  laws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sect.  9  ;  and  vol  Hi.  chap.  403. 

|  The  act  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  28th  March,  1814  (providing, 
•ect.  21,  that  the  officers  and  privates  of  the  militia  of  that  state  neglecting  or 
refuting  to  serve  when  called  into  actual  service,  in  pursuance  of  any  order  or 
requisition  of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  liable  to  the  penalties 
denned  in  the  act  of  Congress  of  28th  February,  1795,  chap.  277,  or  to  any  penalty 
which  may  have  been  prescribed  sine*  the  date  of  that  act,  or  which  may  here- 
offer  be  prescribed  by  any  law  of  thr  United  States,  and  also  providing  for  th* 


352  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

ting»  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  do 
partments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  thei: 
respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to   grant  re 
prieves    and  pardons    for    offences    against    the   United 
States,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment. 

He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con 
sent  of  the  senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two  thirds 
of  the  senators  present  concur;  and  he  shall  nominate, 
and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate, 
shah1  appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  con 
suls,  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and  all  other  officers  of 
the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein 
otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by 
law  ;  but  the  Congress  may  by  law  vest  the  appointment 
of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they  think  proper,  in  the  presi 
dent  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  de 
partments. 

The  president  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  all  vacancies 
that  may  happen  during  the  recess  of  the  senate,  by  grant 
ing  commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their 
next  session. 

SECTION  3.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to  the  Con- 
gress  information  of  the  state  of  the  Union,  and  recom 
mend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he  shall 
judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  may,  on  extraordina 
ry  occasions,  convene  both  houses,  or  either  of  them,  and 
in  case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to 
the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such 
rime  as  he  shall  think  proper  ;  he  shall  receive  ambassa 
dors  and  other  public  ministers  ;  he  shall  take  care  that 

trial  of  such  delinquents  by  a  state  court-martial,  and  that  a  list  of  the  delinquents 
fined  by  such  court  should  be  furnished  to  the  marshal  of  the  United  St;ite.«,  &e. ; 
and  also  to  the  comptroller  of  the  treasury  ol  the  United  States,  in  order  that  the 
further  proceedings  directed  to  be  had  thereon  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
might  be  completed),  is  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  Uiiitec? 
States.— Houston,  vs.  Moore,  5  Wheaton.  \,  12. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  35i 

t 

the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  commission  al 
the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SECTION  4.  The  president,  vice-president,  and  all  civil 
officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed  from  office 
on  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of,  treason,  bribery, 
or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III. 

SECTION  1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States, 
shall  be  vested  in  one  supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior 
courts  as  the  Congress  may  from  time  to  time  ordain  and 
establish.*  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior 
courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and 
shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services,  a  compen 
sation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  contin 
uance  in  office.! 

SECTION  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases 
in  law  and  equity,  arising  under  this  constitution,  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be 
made,  under  their  authority  ; — to  all  cases  affecting  am 
bassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls  ; — to  all  ca 
ses  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdictions ; — to  contro 
versies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party  ; — to 
controversies  between  two  or  more  states ; — between  a 
state  and  citizens  of  another  state  ; — between  citizens  of 
different  states,! — between  citizens  of  the  same  state 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  states,  and  be 
tween  a  state,  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  statest 
citizens  or  subjects.§ 

*  Congress  may  constitutionally  impose  upon  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court 
of  the  United  States  the  burden  of  holding  circuit  courts. — Stuart  vs.  Laird 

1  Cranck,  299. 

t  See  laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  20. 

J  A  citizen  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is  not  a  citizen  of  a  state  within  the 
meaning  of  the  constitution  of  the   United  States. — Hepburn  tt  al  vs.   JElhcy 

2  Cranch,  445. 

f  The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  has  not  power  to  issue  t  mandamtu 


354  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  min« 
isters  and  consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be 
party,  the  supreme  court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction. 
In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme 
court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and 
fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  regulations  as 
the  Congress  shall  make.* 

to  a  secretary  of  state  of  the  United  States,  it  being  an  exercise  of  original  jurisdic 
tion  not  warranted  by  the  constitution,  notwithstanding  the  act  of  Congress. — 
Marbury,  vs.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  137. 

See  a  restriction  of  this  provision. — Amendments,  art.  xi 

*  The  appellate  jurisdiction  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  extends 
to  .1  final  judgment  or  decree  in  any  suit  in  the  highest  court  of  law,  or  equity  oi 
a  state,  where  is  drawn  in  question  the  validity  of  a  treaty,  &c. — Martin  vs. 
Hunter's  lessee,  1  Wheaton,  304. 

Such  judgment,  &c.,  may  be  re-examined  by  writ  of  error,  in  the  same  manner 
as  if  rendered  in  a  circuit  court. — Id. 

If  the  cause  has  been  once  remanded  before,  and  the  state  court  decline  or 
refuse  to  carry  into  effect  the  mandate  of  the  supreme  court  thereon,  this  court 
will  proceed  to  a  final  decision  of  the  same,  and  award  execution  thereon. 

Quere. — Whether  this  court  has  authority  to  issue  a  mandamus  to  the  state 
court  to  enforce  a  former  judgment? — Id.,  362. 

If  the  validity  or  construction  of  a  treaty  of  the  United  States  is  drawn  in 
question,  and  the  decision  is  against  its  validity,  or  the  title  specially  set  up  by 
either  party  under  the  treaty,  this  court  has  jurisdiction  to  ascertain  that  title, 
and  determine  its  legal  validity,  and  is  not  confined  to  the  abstract  construction 
of  the  treaty  itself.— Id.,  362. 

Quere. — Whether  the  courts  of  the  United  States  have  jurisdiction  of  offences 
at  common  law  against  the  United  States  ?—  United  States  vs.  Coolidge,  1  Wheaton, 
415. 

The  courts  of  the  United  States  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  all  seizures 
made  on  land  or  water  for  a  breach  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  any 
intervention  of  a  state  authority,  which  by  taking  the  thing  seized  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  United  States'  officer,  might  obstruct  the  exercise  of  this  jurisdiction, 
is  illegal. — Slocum  vs.  Mayberry  et  al,  2  Wheaton,  1,9. 

In  such  a  case  the  court  of  the  United  States  have  cognizance  of  the  seiziire, 
may  enforce  a  re-delivery  of  the  thing  by  attachment  or  other  summary  process. — 
Id.,  9. 

The  question  under  such  a  seizure,  whether  a  forfeiture  has  been  actually 
incurred,  belongs  exclusively  to  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  and  it  depends 
up<n  the  final  decree  of  such  courts,  whether  the  seizure  is  to  be  deemed  rightful 
or  tortuous. — Id.,  9, 10. 

If  the  seizing  office*  refuse  to  institute  proceedings  to  ascertain  the  forfeiture, 
the  district  court  may,  on  application  of  the  aggrieved  party,  compel  the  office; 
to  proceed  to  adjudication,  or  to  abandon  the  seizure. — Id.,  10. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  extend  to  a  case 


CONSTITUTION    OP    THE    UNITED    STATES.  355 

The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment, 
shall  be  by  jury ;  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state 
where  the  said  crimes  shall  have  been  committed  ;  but 

between  citizens  of  Kentucky,  claiming  lands  exceeding  tho  value  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  under  different  grants,  the  one  issued  by  the  state  of  Kentucky 
and  the  other  by  the  state  of  Virginia,  upon  warrants  issued  by  Virginia,  and 
locations  founded  thereon,  prior  to  the  separation  of  Kentucky  from  Virginia.  It 
is  the  grant  which  passes  the  legal  title  to  the  land,  and  if  the  controversy  is 
founded  upon  the  conflicting  grants  of  different  states,  the  judicial  power  of  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  extends  to  the  case,  whatever  may  have  been  the 
equitable  title  of  the  parties  prior  to  the  grant.— Colson  et  al  vs.  Lewis,  2  \Vheaton, 
377. 

Under  the  judiciary  of  1789,  chap.  20,  sect.  25,  giving  appellate  jurisdiction  to 
the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  from  the  final  judgment  or  decree  of  the 
highest  court  of  law  or  equity  of  a  state,  in  certain  cases  the  writ  of  error  may  be 
directed  to  any  court  in  which  the  record  and  judgment  on  which  it  is  to  act  may 
be  found  ;  and  if  the  record  has  been  remitted  by  the  highest  court,  &c.,  to  another 
court  of  the  state,  it  may  be  brought  by  the  writ  of  error  from  that  court.— Gclston 
vs.  Hoyt,  3  Wheaton,  246,303. 

The  remedies  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States  at  common  law  and  in  equity 
are  to  be,  not  according  to  the  practice  of  state  courts,  but  according  to  the 
principles  of  common  law  and  equity  aa  denned  in  England.  This  doctrine 
reconciled  with  the  decisions  of  the  courts  of  Tennessee,  permitting  an  equitable 
title  to  be  asserted  in  an  action  at  law. — Robinson  vs.  Campbell,  3  Wheaton,  221. 

Remedies  in  respect  to  real  property,  are  to  be  pursued  according  to  the  lex 
loci  rei  sitae. — Id.,  2,  9. 

The  courts  of  the  United  States  have  exclusive  cognizance  of  questions  of 
forfeitures  upon  all  seizures  made  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  it  is 
not  competent  for  a  state  court  to  entertain  or  decide  such  question  of  forfeiture. 
If  a  sentence  of  condemnation  be  definitively  pronounced  by  the  proper  court  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  conclusive  that  a  forfeiture  is  incurred  ;  if  a  sentence  of 
acquittal,  it  is  equally  conclusive  against  the  forfeiture,  and  in  either  case  the 
question  cannot  be  again  litigated  in  any  common  law  for  ever. — Gelston  vs.  Hoyt, 
3  Wheaton,  246,  311. 

Where  a  seizure  is  made  for  a  supposed  forfeiture  under  a  law  of  the  United 
States,  no  action  of  trespass  lies  in  any  common-law  tribunal,  until  a  final  decree  is 
pronounced  upon  the  proceeding  inrem  to  enforce  such  forfeiture  :  for  it  depends 
upon  the  final  decree  of  the  court  proceeding  in  rem,  whether  such  seizure  is  to  be 
deemed  rightful  or  tortuous,  and  the  action,  if  brought  before  such  decree  is 
made,  is  brought  too  soon. — Id..  313. 

If  a  suit  be  brought  against  the  seizing  officer  for  the  supposed  trespass  while 
the  suit  for  the  forfeiture  is  depending,  the  fact  of  such  pending  may  be  pleaded  in 
abatement,  or  as  a  temporary  bar  of  the  action.  If  after  a  decree  of  condemna 
tion,  then  that  fact  may  be  pleaded  as  a  bar  :  if  after  an  acquittal  with  a  certili  late 
of  reasonable  cause  of  seizur'%  then  that  may  be  pleaded  as  a  bar.  If  after  an 
acquittal  without  such  certificate,  then  the  officer  is  without  any  justification  for 
the  seizure,  and  it  is  definitively  settled  to  be  a  tortuous  act.  If  to  an  action  o/ 
trespass  in  a  state  cov/t  for  a  seizure,  the  seizing  officer  plead  the  fact  of  for 


356  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    I  NITED    STATES. 

when  not  committed  within  any  state,  the  trial  shall  be  al 
such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law  have 
directed.* 


feiture  in  his  defence  without  averring  a  Us  pendcns,  or  a  condemnation?  or  an 
acquittal,  with  a  certificate  of  reasonable  cause  of  seizure,  the  plea  is  bad :  for 
it  attempts  to  put  in  issue  the  question  of  forfeiture  in  a  state  court. — Id.,  314. 

Supposing  that  the  third  article  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  which 
declares,  that  "the  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  mari 
time  jurisdiction"  vested  in  the  United  States  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  all  such 
cases,  and  that  a  murder  committed  in  the  waters  of  a  state  where  the  tide  ebbs 
and  flows,  is  a  case  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  ;  yet  Congress  have 
not,  in  the  8th  section  of  the  act  of  1790,  chap.  9,  "  for  the  punishment  of  certain 
crimes  against  the  United  States,"  so  exercised  this  power,  as  to  confer  on  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  jurisdiction  over  such  murder. — United  States  vs. 
Bevans,  3  W/ieaton,  336, 387. 

Quere.— Whether  courts  of  common  law  have  concurrent  jurisdicjjfc  with  the 
admiralty  over  murder  committed  in  bays,  &c.,  which  are  enclosed  parts  of  the 
sea  I—Id.,  387. 

The  grant  to  the  United  States  in  the  constitution  of  all  cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  jurisdiction,  does  not  extend  to  a  cession  of  the  waters  in  which 
those  cases  may  arise,  or  of  general  jurisdiction  over  the  same.  Congress  may 
pass  all  laws  which  are  necessary  for  giving  the  most  complete  effect  to  the 
exercise  of  the  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction  granted  to  the  government  of 
the  Union ;  but  the  general  jurisdiction  over  the  place  subject  to  this  grant,  adheres 
to  the  territory  as  a  portion  of  territory  not  yet  given  away,  and  the  residuary 
powers  of  legislation  still  remain  in  the  state. — Id.,  389. 

The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  has  constitutionally  appellate  jurisdic 
tion  under  the  judiciary  act  of  1789,  chap.  20,  sect.  25,  from  the  final  judgment  or 
decree  of  the  highest  court  of  law  or  equity  of  a  state  having  jurisdiction  of  the 
subject  matter  of  the  suit,  where  is  drawn  in  question  the  validity  of  a  treaty  or 
statute  of,  or  an  authority  exercised  under,  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  is 
against  their  validity :  or  where  is  drawn  in  question  the  validity  of  a  statute  of, 
or  an  authority  exercised  under  any  state,  on  the  ground  of  their  being  repugnant 
to  the  constitution,  treaties,  or  laws  of  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  is  in 
favor  of  such  their  validity :  or  of  the  constitution,  or  of  a  treaty,  or  statute  of,  or 
commission  held  under  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  is  against  the  title, 
right,  privilege,  or  exemption,  specially  set  up  or  claimed  by  either  party  under 
such  clause  of  the  constitution,  treaty  statute,  or  commission.— Cohens  vs. 
Virginia,  6  Wheaton,  264,  375. 

It  is  no  objection  to  the  exercise  of  this  appellate  jurisdiction,  that  one  cf  the 
parties  is  a  state,  and  the  other  a  citizen  of  that  state.— Id. 

The  circuit  courts  of  the  Union  have  chancery  jurisdiction  in  every  state;  they 
have  the  same  chancery  powers,  and  the  same  rules  of  decision  in  equity  cases,  in 
all  the  states.— United  States  vs.  Hoicland,  4  Wheaton,  108, 115. 

Resolutions  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia  of  1810,  upon  the  proposition  from 
Pennsylrania  to  amend  the  constitution,  so  as  to  provide  an  impartial  tribunal  to 

*  See  amendments,  art.  rt. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES.  357 

SECTION  3.  Treason  against  the  United  States,  shall 
sonsist  only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  hi  adhering 
to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort. 

No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the 
testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on 
confession  in  open  court. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punish 
ment  of  treason,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work 

decide  disputes  between  the  State  and  federal  judiciaries. — Note  to  Cohens  vs. 
Virginia.  Note  6  Wheaton,358. 

Where  a  cause  is  brought  to  this  court  by  writ  of  error,  or  appeal  from  the 
highest  court  ot'law,  or  equity  of  a  state,  under  the  25th  section  of  the  judiciary  act 
of  1789,  chap.  20,  upon  the  ground  that  the  validity  of  a  statute  of  the  United  States 
was  drawn  in  question,  and  that  the  decision  of  the  state  court  was  against  its 
validity,  &c.,  or  that  the  validity  of  the  statute  of  a  state  was  drawn  in  question  as 
repugnant  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  decision  was  in  favor  of 
its  validity,  it  must  appear  from  the  record,  that  the  act  of  Congress,  or  the  consti 
tutionality  of  the  state  law,  was  drawn  in  question. — Miller  vs.  Nicholls,  4  Wheaton, 
311,315. 

But  it  is  not  required  that  the  record  should  in  terms  state  a  misconstruction 
of  the  act  of  Congress,  or  that  it  was  drawn  into  question.  It  is  sufficient  to  give 
this  court  jurisdiction  of  the  cause,  that  the  record  should  show  that  an  act  of  Con 
gress  was  applicable  to  the  case. — Id.,  315. 

The  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  has  no  jurisdiction  under  the  25th  section 
of  the  judiciary  act  of  1789,  chap.  20,  unless  the  judgment  or  decree  of  the  state 
court  be  a  final  judgment  or  decree.  A  judgment  reversing  that  of  an  inferior 
court,  and  awarding  a  venire  facias  dc  novo,  is  not  a  final  judgment. — Houston  vs. 
Moore,  3  Wkeaton,  433. 

By  the  compact  of  1802,  settling  the  boundary  line  between  Virginia  and  Ten 
nessee,  and  the  laws  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  it  is  declared  that  all  claims  and 
titles  to  land  derived  from  Virginia,  or  North  Carolina,  or  Tennessee,  which  have 
fallen  into  the  respective  states,  shall  remain  as  secure  to  the  owners  thereof,  as 
if  derived  from  the  government  within  whose  boundary  they  have  fallen,  and 
ehall  not  be  prejudiced  or  affected  by  the  establishment  of  the  line.  Where  the 
titles  of  both  the  plaintiff  and  defendant  in  ejectment  were  derived  under  grant 
from  Virginia  to  lands  which  fell  within  the  limits  of  Tennessee,  it  was  held  that 
a  prior  settlement  right  thereto,  which  would  in  equity  give  the  party  a  title, 
could  not  be  asserted  as  a  sufficient  title  in  an  action  of  ejectment  brought  in  the 
circuit  court  of  Tennessee. — Robinson  vs.  Campbell,  3  Wheaton,  212. 

Although  the  state  courts  of  Tennessee  have  decided  that,  under  their  statutes 
(declaring  an  elder  grant  fouided  on  a  junior  entry  to  be  void),  a  junior  patent, 
founded  on  a  prior  entry,  shall  prevail  at  law  against  a  senior  patent  founded  on  a 
junior  entry,  this  doctrine  has  never  been  extended  beyond  cases  within  tho 
express  provision  of  the  statute  of  Tennessee,  and  could  not  apply  to  titles 
deriving  all  their  validity  from  the  laws  of  Virginia,  and  confirmed  by  the  com 
pict  between  the  two  states. — Id,  212. 


358  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  except  during  the  lifo 
of  the  person  attainted.* 

ARTICLE  IV. 

SECTION  1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each 
state  to  the  public  acts,  records,  and  judicial  proceedings 
of  every  other  state.f  And  the  Congress  may  by  general 
Jaws  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records 
and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof.J 

SECTION  2.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  entitled 
to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several 
states. 

A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or 
other  crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in 
another  state,  shall  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority 
of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be  re 
moved  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under 
the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  conse 
quence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged 
from  such  service  or  labor,  but  shall  be  delivered  up  on 
claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may 
be  due. 

SECTION  3.  Ne\v  states  may  be  admitted  by  the  Con 
gress  into  this  Union ;  but  no  new  state  shall  be  formed 
or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state ;  nor 
any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states. 

*  See  laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  36. 

t  A  judgment  of  a  state  court  has  the  same  credit,  validity,  and  effect,  in  evei/ 
other  court  within  the  United  States,  which  it  had  in  the  court  where  it  was 
rendered  ;  and  whatever  pleas  would  be  good  to  a  suit  thereon  in  such  state,  and 
none  others  can  be  pleaded  in  any  other  court  within  the  United  States. — Hampton 
vs.  McConnell,  3  Wkeaton,  234. 

The  record  of  a  judgment  in  one  state  is  conclusive  evidence  in  another 
although  it  appears  that  the  suit  in  which  it  was  rendered,  was  commenced  by  an 
attachment  of  property,  the  defendant  having  afterward  appeared  and  takes 
defence.— Mayhew  vs.  Thaeher,  6  Whtaton,  129 . 

ws  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  38  ;  and  vo    iii.,  chap.  409. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,      359 

or  parts  of  states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures 
of  the  states  concerned  as  well  as  of  the  Congress. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make 
all  needful  rules  and  regulations  respecting  the  territory 
or  other  property  belonging  to  the  United  States  ;  and 
nothing  in  this  constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to 
prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  par 
ticular  state. 

SECTION  4.  The  United  States  shall  guaranty  to  every 
state  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion  ;  and  on  ap 
plication  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive  (when  the 
legislature  can  not  be  convened)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE  V. 

The  Congress,  whenever  two  thirds  of  both  houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amendments  to  this 
constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  the  legislatures  of 
two  thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall  call  a  convention  for 
proposing  amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be 
valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  part  of  this  constitu 
tion,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three  fourths  of 
the  several  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three  fourths 
thereof,  as  the  one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may 
be  proposed  by  the  Congress ;  provided  that  no  amend 
ment  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousnnd 
eight  hundred  and  eight  shall  in  any  manner  affect  tho 
first  and  fourth  clauses  in  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  ar 
ticle  ;  and  that  no  state,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  de 
prived  of  its  equal  suffrage  in  the  senate.* 

ARTICLE  VI. 

All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into, 
before  the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  shall  be  as  valid 

*  See  ante  art.  i.,  »ect.  3,  clause  1. 


360  CONSTITUTION    OP    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

against  the  United  States  under  this  constitution,  as 
under  the  confederation. 

This  constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof;  and  all 
treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the  au 
thority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land;*  and  the  judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound 
thereby,  anything  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  state 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding^ 

The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned, 
and  the  members  of  the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all 
executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  several  states,  shall  be  bound  by  oath  or  affir 
mation,  to  support  this  constitution  ;|  but  no  religious  test 
shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII. 

The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine  states,  shall 
be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  this  constitution  be 
tween  the  states  so  ratifying  the  same. 

Done  in  convention  by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the 
states  present,  the  seventeenth  day  of  September,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty -seven  and  of  the  independence  of  the  United 

*  An  act  of  Congress  repugnant  to  the  constitution  can  not  become  a  law. — 
Marburg  vs.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  176. 

t  The  courts  of  the  United  States  are  bound  to  take  notice  of  the  constitution.— 
Marbury  vs.  Madison,  1  Cranch,  178. 

A  contemporary  exposition  of  the  constitution,  practised  and  acquiesced  under 
for  a  period  of  years,  fixes  its  construction. — Stuart  vs.  Laird,  I  Cranch,  299. 

The  government  of  the  Union,  though  limited  in  its  powers,  is  supreme  within 
Its  sphere  of  action,  and  its  laws,  when  made  in  pursuance  of  the  constitution, 
form  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. — McCulloch  vs.  State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton, 
405. 

t  See  laws  of  the  Unite>  States,  vol.  it.,  chap.l. 


CONSTITUTION    OP    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


361 


of  America  the  twelfth.     In  witness  whereof  we 
hereunto  subscribed  our  names. 

Go.  WASHINGTON, 
President,  and,  deputy  from  Virginia. 


New  Hampshire. 
JOHN  LANGDON, 
NICHOLAS  GILMAN. 

Massachusetts. 
NATHANIEL  GORHAM. 
RUFUS  KING. 

Connecticut. 


Delaware. 
GEORGE  REED, 
GUNNING  BEDFORD,  JR., 
JOHN  DICKINSON, 
RICHARD  BASSETT, 
JACOB  BROOM. 

Maryland. 


WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JOHNSON,  JAMES  M'HENRY, 


ROGER  SHERMAN. 

New  York. 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON. 

New  Jersey. 
WILLIAM  LIVINGSTON, 
DAVID  BREARLEY, 
WILLIAM  PATERSON, 
JONATHAN  DAYTON. 

Pennsylvania. 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN, 
THOMAS  MIFFLIN, 
ROBERT  MORRIS, 
GEORGE  CLYMER, 
THOMAS  FITZSIMONS, 
JARED  INGERSOLL, 
JAMES  WILSON, 
GDUVERNEUR  MORRIS. 

Attest : 


DANIEL  OF  ST.  THO.  JENIFER 
DANIEL  CARROLL. 

Virginia. 
JOHN  BLAIR, 
JAMES  MADISON,  JR. 

Nor tli  Carolina. 
WILLIAM  BLOUNT, 
RICHARD  DOBBS  S  PLIGHT, 
HUGH  WILLIAMSON. 

South  Carolina. 
JOHN  RUTLEDGE, 
CHARLES  C.  PINCKNEY, 
CHARLES  PINCKNEY, 
PIERCE  BUTLER. 

Georgia. 
WILLIAM  FEW, 
ABRAHAM  BALDWIN. 
WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretory. 


16 


'*** 


302  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


AMENDMENTS* 

To  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  ratified  accord 
ing  to  the  Provisions  of  the  Jifth  Article  of  the  foregoing 
Constitution. 

Article  the  first.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respect 
ing  an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  ex 
ercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of 
the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assem 
ble,  and  to  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  griev 
ances. 

Article  the  second.  A  well  regulated  militia  being  ne 
cessary  to  the  security  of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  peo 
ple  to  keep  and  bear  arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Article  the  third.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be 
quartered  in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the  owner  ; 
nor  in  a  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

Article  the  fourth.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure 
in  their  persons,  houses,papers,  and  effects,  against  unrea 
sonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated,  and 
no  warrar.ts  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  suppor 
ted  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the 
place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be 
seized. 

Article  the  Jifth.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for 
a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  present 
ment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising 
in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  ac 
tual  service  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall 
any  person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice 

*  Congress,  at  its  first  session,  begun  and  held  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
Wednesday,  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  proposed  to  the  legislatures  of  the  several 
states  twelve  amendments  to  the  constitution.,  ten  of  which,  only,  were  adopted. 


CONSTITUTION    OF    THE     UNITED    STATES.  363 

put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb  ;  nor  shall  be  compelled  in 
any  criminal  case  to  be  a  witness  against  himself,  nor  be 
deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property,  without  due  process 
of  law  ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use, 
without  just  compensation. 

Article  tlie  sixth.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  ac 
cused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by 
an  impartial  jury  of  the  state  and  district  wherein  the  crime 
shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have  been 
previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the 
nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted 
with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  compulsory  pro 
cess  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor,  and  to  have  th& 
assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

Article  the  seventh.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the 
value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right 
of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact  tried  by  a 
jury,  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court  of  the 
United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  commou 
law.* 

Article  the  eighth.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required, 
nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  pun 
ishments  inflicted. 

Article  the  ninth.  The  enumeration  in  the  constitution 
of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  dispar 
age  others  retained  by  the  people. 

Article  the  tenth.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  Uni 
ted  States,  by  the  constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the 


*  The  act  of  assembly  of  Maryland,  of  1793,  chap.  30,  incorporating  the  bank  of 
Columbia,  and  giving  to  the  corporation  a  summary  process  by  execution  in  the 
nature  of  an  attachment  against  its  debtors  who  have,  by  an  express  consent  in 
writing,  made  the  bonds,  bills,  or  notes,  by  them  drawn  and  endorsed,  negotiable 
at  the  bank,  is  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  or  of  Mary 
land  —Bank  of  Columbia  vs.  OJccly,  4  Wheaton,  246,  249. 

But  the  last  provision  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  which  gives  this  summary 
process  to  the  bank,  is  no  part  of  its  corporate  franchise,  and  may  be  repealed  or 
nH«r»d  at  pleasure  by  the  legislative  will. — Id.,  245. 


364     CONSTITUTION  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

states,  are  reserved  to  the  states  respectively,  or  to  the 
people.* 

Article  the  eleventh.1!  The  judicial  power  of  the  United 
States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in  law 
or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of  the 
United  States  by  citizens  of  another  state,  or  by  citizens 
or  subjects  of  any  foreign  state. 

Article  the  twelfth.\  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  re 
spective  states,  and  vote  by  ballot  for  president  and  vice- 
president,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall  not  be  an  inhabi 
tant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves  ;  they  shall  name 

*  The  powers  granted  to  Congress  are  not  exclusive  of  similar  powers  existing 
in  the  states,  unless  where  the  constitution  has  expressly  in  terms  given  an 
exclusive  power  to  Congress,  or  the  exercise  of  a  like  power  is  prohibited  to  the 
etates,  or  there  is  a  direct  repugnancy  or  incompatibility  in  the  exercise  of  it  by 
the  states.— Houston  vs.  Moore,  5  Wheaton,  1,  12. 

The  example  of  the  first  class  is  to  be  found  in  the  exclusive  legislation  dele 
gated  to  Congress  over  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the 
state  in  which  the  same  shall  be  for  forts,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  &c.  Of  the  second 
class,  the  prohibition  of  a  state  to  coin  money  or  emit  bills  of  credit.  Of  the 
third  class,  the  power  to  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  the  dele° 
gation  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction. — Id.,  49. 

In  all  other  classes  of  cases,  the  states  retain  concurrent  authority  with  Con 
gress.—  Id.,  49. 

But  in  cases  of  concurrent  authority,  where  the  laws  of  the  states  and  the  Union 
are  in  direct  and  manrfest  collision  on  the  same  subject,  those  of  the  Union  being 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land  are  of  paramount  authority,  and  the  state  laws  so  iitr, 
find  so  far  only  as  such  incompatibility  exists,  must  necessarily  yield. — Id.,  49. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  similar  to  the  articles 
of  confederation,  which  excludes  incidental  or  implied  powers.— Me Culloch  vs. 
State  of  Maryland,  4  Wheaton,  406. 

If  the  end  be  legitimate,  and  within  the  scope  of  the  constitution,  all  the  means 
which  are  appropriate,  which  are  plainly  adapted  to  that  end,  and  which  are  not 
prohibited,  may  constitutionally  be  employed  to  carry  it  into  effect— W,  421. 

The  act  of  Congress  of  4th  May,  1812,  entitled,  "  An  act  further  to  amend  the 
charter  of  the  city  of  Washington,"  which  provides  (sect.  6)  that  the  corporation 
of  the  city  shall  be  empowered  for  certain  purposes  and  under  certain  restric 
tions,  to  authorize  the  drawing  of  lotteries,  does  not  extend  to  authorize  the 
corporation  to  force  the  sale  of  the  tickets  in  such  lottery  in  states  where  such 
tale  may  be  prohibited  by  the  state  laws.— Cohens  vs.  Virginia,  6  Wheaton,  2G4, 
375. 

f  This  amendment  was  proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  third  Congreaa, 
See  ante  art,  iii.,  sect.  2,  clause  1. 

t  Proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  eighth  Congress.  Seo  ante  art,  feet.  1 
clause  3.  Annulled  by  this  amendment 


CONST1TU1ICN  01'  THE  UNITED  STATES.      365 

iii  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  president,  and  in 
distinct  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  vice-president,  and 
they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
president,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  vice-president, 
and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they  shall 
sign  and  certify,  and  transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  president 
of  the  senate;* — the  president  of  the  senate  shall,  in  the 
presence  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives,  open 
all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted ; — 
the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  presi 
dent,  shall  be  the  president,  if  such  number  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed;  and  if  no  per 
son  have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the 
highest  numbers  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those 
voted  for  as  president,  the  house  of  representatives  shall 
choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  president.  But  in 
choosing  the  president,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states, 
the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote  ;  a  quo 
rum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  mem 
bers  from  two  thirds  of  the  states,  and  a  majority  of  all 
the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the 
house  of  representatives  shall  not  choose  a  president  when 
ever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before 
the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  vice- 
oresident  shall  act  as  president,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death 
or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the  president.  The 
persons  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  vice-presi 
dent,  shall  be  the  vice-president,  if  such  number  be  a  ma 
jority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors  appointed,  and  if 
no  person  have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest 
numbers  on  the  list,  the  senate  shall  choose  the  vice-presi 
dent;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two  thirds 
of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  majority  of  the 

*   See  laws  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.,  chap.  109,  sect  5. 


366  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    t>  FATES. 

whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no 
person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  president 
shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  vice-president  of  the  United 
States. 

NOTE.— Another  amendment  was  proposed  as  article  xiii.,  nt  the  second  session 
of  the  eleventh  Congress,  but  not  having  been  ratified  by  a  sufficient  number  of 
states,  has  not  yet  become  valid  as  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  erroneously  given  as  a  part  of  the  constitution,  in  page  74,  vol,  i.,  laws  of  the 
United  States. 


I  have  examined  and  compared  the  foregoing  print  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  amendments  thereto,  with  the  rolls  in  this  office,  and  find  it 
a  faithful  and  literal  copy  of  the  said  constitution  and  amendments,  in  the  text 
and  punctuation  thereof.  It  appears  that  the  first  ten  amendments,  which  were 
proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States,  were  filially 
ratified  by  the  constitutional  number  of  states,  on  the  15th  day  of  December, 
1791  ;  that  the  eleventh  amendment,  which  was  proposed  at  the  first  session  of 
the  third  Congress,  was  declared,  in  a  message  from  the  president  of  the  United 
States  to  both  houses  of  Congress,  dated  8th  January,  1798,  to  have  been  adopted 
by  three  fourths,  the  constitutional  number  of  states  ;  and  that  the  twelfth  amend 
ment,  which  was  proposed  at  the  first  session  of  the  eighth  Congress,  was  adopted 
by  three  fourths,  the  constitutional  number  of  states,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  four,  according  to  a  public  notice  thereof,  by  the  secretary  of 
state,  under  date  the  25th  of  September,  of  the  same  year. 

DANIEL  BRENT,-  Chief  Clerk. 

Department  of  State,  Washington,  25rh  Feb.,  1828. 

As  soon  as  the  Constitution  was  presented  to  Congress, 
that  body  adopted  a  resolution,  by  which  it  was  recom 
mended  to  the  'several  states,  to  call  conventions  within 
their  respective  jurisdictions  to  consider  it,  and  adopt  or 
reject  it.  It  was  agreed  that  when  nine  of  the  thirteen 
states  should  ratify  it,  it  should  become  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  land. 

In  every  state  in  the  Union,  there  was  a  strong  party 
opposed  to  the  constitution,  and  frequently  the  leaders  in 
the  opposition  were  men  whose  patriotism  was  beyond 
reproach.  Among  these  was  Patrick  Henry,  of  Virginias 
who  opposed  its  ratification  by  the  Assembly  of  his  state, 
with  all  his  gigantic  powers.  The  annulling,  to  a  great 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.      367 

extent,  of  State  Rights,  and  basing  the  sovereignty  too 
absolutely  upon  the  popular  will,  were  the  chief  objec 
tions  to  the  instrument ;  for  the  experience  of  all  former 
ages  had  shown,  that  of  all  human  governments,  demo 
cracy  was  the  most  unstable,  fluctuating,  and  short-lived. 
Despotism,  arising  from  a  centralization  of  power  in  the 
general  government,  on  one  hand,  and  anarchy  incident 
to  the  instability  of  democracy,  on  the  other,  were  the 
Scylla  and  Charybdis,  between  which  the  republic  would, 
in  the  opinion  of  these  opponents,  be  placed,  with  almost 
a  certainty  of  destruction.  Long  and  stormy  sessions 
were  therefore  had  in  the  several  state  conventions,  and 
in  most  of  them,  the  majorities  in  favor  of  the  constitution 
were  small.*  It  was  not  until  the  twenty  first  of  June, 
1788,  that  New  Hampshire,  the  ninth  state,  ratified  it,  and 
it  became  the  law  of  the  land.  Rhode  Island  did  not  give 
its  sanction  until  the  twenty  ninth  of  May,  1790. 

The  friends  of  the  new  Constitution  greatly  rejoiced 
when  its  ratification  was  secured  by  a  majority  of  the 
states  ;  and  it  was  gratifying  to  see  many  of  the  patriotic 
leaders  of  the  opposition,  submit  cheerfully  to  the  will  of 
the  majority,  and  lend  their  aid  in  carrying  its  provisions 
into  operation.  Steps  were  immediately  taken  to  organize 
the  government  under  it,  the  most  important  of  which 
was,  the  election  of  a  Chief  Magistrate.  The  friends  of 
the  new  constitution  turned  their  eyes  upon  Washington  ; 
— indeed  his  name  seemed  first  to  occur  to  the  mind 


*  A  periodical,  devoted  to  the  advocacy  of  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  the 
constitution,  was  started,  under  the  auspices  of  Hamilton,  Madison  and  others. 
It  was  called  "The  Federalist"  and  was  filled  with  essays,  arguing  in  favor  of 
the  proposed  change  in  the  government.  Those  opposed  to  the  constitution 
etyled  themselves  "Anti- Federalists,"  and  this  was  the  origin  of  those  party 
names,  one  of  which  is  familiar  to  the  ear  even  in  our  day.  Washington  belonged 
to  the  Federal  party,  and,  although  he  saw  many  defects  in  the  constitution,  yet 
it  was  so  much  better  than  all  that  preceded  it,  that  he  gave  it  his  hearty 
Buppo-t.  It  was  during  his  administration,  that  the  "Republican1  party  caxne 
into  being,  with  Mr  Jeflerson  at  its  hnod. 


368  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

of  the  whole  nation.  The  first  Presidential  Electors  were 
chosen  in  February,  1789,  and  on  the  first  Wednesday 
of  March,  the  Electoral  College  met  to  vote  for  Chief 
Magistrate.  Washington  received  the  unanimous  vote 
of  the  electors,  and  John  Adams  was  chosen  Vice- 
President. 

But  one  act  more  remained  to  complete  the  glorious 
work  begun  in  1776,  by  declaring  the  colonies  "free  and 
independent  states."  That  act  was  the  inauguration  of 
the  first  President  of  the  Republic,  now  placed  upon  a 
stable  basis.  It  took  place  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
the  thirtieth  day  of  April,  1789.  As  soon  as  Washington 
was  apprized  of  his  election,  he  proceeded  to  the  seat  of 
the  general  government,  at  New  York.  His  journey  was 
one  triumphant  procession,  grander  far,  because  of  its 
noble  moral  aspect,  than  any  that  ever  attended  the 
return  to  the  capital  of  the  proudest  of  Rome's  many 
victors.  No  sorrowing  captives  ;  no  spoils  of  palaces  and 
temples  ;  no  gorgeous  display  of  banners  and  spears,  and 
all  the  dreadful  pomp  of  barbarous  War,  attended  the 
Hero's  march ;  but  through  busy  towns  and  smiling  fields 
his  pathway  to  highest  exaltation  was  laid  out,  and  the 
shouts  of  a  grateful  people,  mingled  with  the  songs  of 
children  and  the  sweet  hosannas  of  women,  greeted  him 
at  every  step. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  his  inauguration, 
Washington  attended  divine  service,  a  fit  preparation  for 
the  solemn  scene  in  which  he  was  about  to  engage.  He 
then  proceeded  to  the  old  Federal  Hall,  and  upon  the 
balcony,  in  the  presence  of  assembled  thousands,  Chan 
cellor  Livingston  administered  to  him  the  oath  of  office, 
and  proclaimed  him  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  Revolution  was  complete,  the  divine  truth  of  Man's 
Equality  was  vindicated,  and  our  Republic — the  pride 
and  glory  of  the  earth,  started  upon  its  wondrous  career 


CONSTITUTION    OP    THE    UNITED    STATES.  36£ 

In  the  language  of  that  lamented  statesman  and  sage 
John  Quincy  Adams,  we  say  to  our  countrymen, — 

"  And  now  the  future  is  all  before  us,  and  Providenct 
our  guide. 

"  When  the  children  of  Israel,  after  forty  years  of  wan- 
derings  in  the  wilderness,  were  about  to  enter  upon  the 
promised  land,  their  leader,  Moses,  who  was  not  per 
mitted  to  cross  the  Jordan  with  them,  just  before  his  re 
moval  from  among  them,  commanded  that  when  the 
Lord  their  God  should  have  brought  them  into  the  land, 
they  should  put  the  curse  upon  Mount  Ebal,  and  the 
blessing  upon  Mount  Gerizim.  This  injunction  was 
faithfully  fulfilled  by  his  successor  Joshua.  Immedi 
ately  after  they  had  taken  possession  of  the  land,  Joshua 
built  an  altar  to  the  Lord,  of  whole  stones,  upon  Mount 
Ebal.  And  there  he  wrote  upon  the  stones  a  copy  of 
the  law  of  Moses,  which  he  had  written  in  the  presence 
of  the  children  of  Israel :  and  all  Israel,  and  their  elders 
and  officers,  and  their  judges,  stood  on  the  two  sides  of 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  borne  by  the  priests  and  Levites, 
six  tribes  over  against  Mount  Gerizim,  and  six  over 
against  Mount  Ebal.  And  he  read  all  the  words  of  the 
law,  the  blessings  and  cursings,  according  to  all  that  was 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law. 

"  Fellow-citizens,  the  ark  of  your  covenant  is  the  Dec 
laration  of  Independence.  Your  Mount  Ebal,  is  the 
confederacy  of  separate  state  sovereignties,  and  your 
Mount  Gerizim  is  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
In  that  scene  of  tremendous  and  awful  solemnity,  narra 
ted  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  there  is  not  a  curse  pronoun 
ced  against  the  people,  upon  Mount  Ebal,  not  a  blessing 
promised  them  upon  Mount  Gerizim,  which  your  pos 
terity  may  not  suffer  or  enjoy,  from  your  and  their  ad 
herence  to,  or  departure  from,  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  practically  interwoven  iq 

16* 


370  CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Lay  up  these 
principles,  then,  in  your  hearts,  and  in  your  souls — bind 
them  for  signs  upon  your  hands,  that  they  may  be  as 
frontlets  between  your  eyes — teach  them  to  your  chil 
dren,  speaking  of  them  when  sitting  in  your  houseSj 
when  walking  by  the  way,  when  lying  down  and  when 
rising  up — write  them  upon  the  doorplates  of  your 
houses,  and  upon  your  gates — cling  to  them  as  to  the 
issues  of  life — adhere  to  them  as  to  the  coiis  of  your 
eiernal  salvation." 


APPENDIX. 


STAMP  ACT.* 

\VHEREAS,  by  an  act  made  in  the  last  session  of  Parlia- 
ment,  several  duties  were  granted,  continued,  and  appro 
priated  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of  defending,  pro 
tecting,  ind  securing  the  British  colonies  and  plantations 
in  America  :  and  whereas  it  is  first  necessary,  that  pro 
vision  be  made  for  raising  a  further  revenue  within  your 
majesty's  doiuiuions  in  America,  towards  defraying  the 
said  expenses  ;  we,  your  majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal 
subjects,  the  Cojnmons  of  Greit  Britain,  in  parliament 
assembled,  have  therefore  resolved  to  give  and  grant  unto 
your  majesty  the  several  rights  and  duties  hereinafter 
mentioned  ;  and  do  most  humbly  beseech  your  majesty 
that  it  may  be  enacted,  And  be  it  enacted  by  the  king's 
most  excellent  majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  con 
sent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in 
this  present  parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority 
of  the  same,  That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  Novem 
ber,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-five,  there 
shall  be  raised,  levied,  collected,  and  paid  unto  his 
majesty,  his  heirs,  and  successors,  throughout  the  colonies 
and  plantations  in  America,  which  now  are,  or  hereafter 
may  be,  under  the  dominion  of  his  majesty,  his  heirs  and 
successors 

1.  For  every  skin  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or  sheet  or 
piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or 

*  Received  th«  royal  signature,  March  27th,  1765. 


372  STAMP    ACT. 

printed,  any  declaration,  plea,  replication,  rejoinder,  de 
murrer,  or  other  pleading,  or  any  copy  thereof,  in  any 
court  of  law  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in 
America,  a  stamp  duty  of  three  pence. 

2.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet   or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be   engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  special  bail;  and  appearance  upon 
such  bail  in  any  such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings. 

3.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  may  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  petition,  bill,  or  answer,  claim, 
plea,  replication,  rejoinder,  demurrer,  or  other  pleading, 
in  any  court  of  chancery  or  equity  within  the  said  col 
onies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling  and 
six  pence. 

4.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  copy  of  any  petition,  bill,  answer, 
claim,   plea,   replication,  rejoinder,   demurrer,    or    other 
pleading,  in  any  such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  three  pence. 

5.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  monition,  libel,  answer,  allegation, 
inventory,  or  renunciation,  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  in 
any  court  of  probate,  court  of  the  ordinary,  or  other  court 
exercising  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  within  the  said  colo 
nies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

6.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be   engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  copy  of  any  will  (other  than  the 
probate  thereof,)  monition,  libel,  answer,  allegation,  in 
ventory,  or  renunciation,  in  ecclesiastical  matters,  in  any 
such  court,  a  stamp  duty  of  six  pence. 

7.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
shee*  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall   be  engrossed, 


STAMP    ACT.  373 

written,  or  printed,  any  donation,  presentation,  collation 
or  institution,  of  or  to  any  benefice,  or  any  writ  or  instru 
ment  for  the  like  purpose,  or  any  register,  entry,  testimo 
nial,  or  certificate  of  any  degree  taken  in  any  university, 
academy,  college,  or  seminary  of  learning,  within  the  said 
colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  pounds. 

8.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet   or  piece  of  paper,  on  which   shall  be  engrossed, 
written,   or  printed,  any  monition,  libel,  claim,   answer, 
allegation,  information,  letter  of  request,  execution,  re 
nunciation,  inventory,  or  other  pleading,  in  any  admiralty 
court  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp 
duty  of  one,  shilling. 

9.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
si.eet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  any  copy  of  any  su^l 
monition,  libel,  claim,  answer,  allegation,  information,  let 
ter    of  request,    execution,    renunciation,   inventory,    or 
other  pleading,  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed,  a 
stamp  duty  of  six  pence. 

10.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  01 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which   shall  be   engrossed; 
written,  or  printed,  any  appeal,  writ  of  error,  writ  of 
dower,  ad  quod   damnum,  certiorari,  statute    merchant, 
statute  staple,  attestation,  or  certificate,  by  any  officer,  or 
exemplification  of  any  record  or  proceeding,  in  any  court 
whatsoever,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  (ex 
cept  appeals,  writs  of  error,  certiorari,  attestations,  certi 
ficates,  and  exemplifications,  for,  or  relating  to  the  re 
moval  of  any  proceedings  from  before  a  single  justice  of 
the  peace,)  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

11.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  writ  of  covenant  for  levying  fines, 
writ  of  entry  for  suffering  a  common  recovery,  or  attach 
ment  issuing  out  of,  or  returnable  into  any  court  within 


374  STAMP     \CT. 

the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  tfjivt 
shillings. 

12.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  judgment,  decree,  or  sentence, 
or  dismission,  or  any  record  of  nisi  prius  or  posted,  in  any 
court  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp 
duty  of  four  shillings. 

13.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  affidavit,  common  bail,  or  appear 
ance,  interrogatory,  deposition,  rule,  order  or  wan-ant  of 
any  court,  or  any  dedimus  potestatcm,  capias  subpoena, 
summons,  compulsory  citation,  commission,  recognisance, 
or  any  other  writ,  process,  or  mandate,  issuing  out  of,  or 
returnable  into,  any  court,  or  any  office  belonging  there 
to,  or  any  other  proceeding  therein  whatsoever,  or  any 
copy  thereof,  or  of  any  record  not  herein  before  charged, 
within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  (except  warrants 
relating  to  criminal  matters,  and  proceedings  thereon,  or 
relating  thereto,)  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

14.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  note  or  bill  of  lading,  which  shall 
be  signed  for  any  kind  of  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise, 
to  be  exported  from,  or  any  cocket  or  clearance  granted 
within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of 
four  pence. 

15.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
aheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be   engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  letters  of  mart  or  commission  for  pri 
vate  ships  of  war,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations, 
a  stamp  du:y  of  twenty  shillings. 

16.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  >r  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  bo   engrossed. 


STAMP    ACT.  376 

written,  or  printed,  any  grant,  appointment,  or  admission 
of,  or  to  any  public  beneficial  office  or  employment,  for 
the  space  of  one  year,  or  any  lesser  time,  of  or  above 
twenty  pounds  per  annum  sterling  money,  in  salary,  fees, 
and  perquisites,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations 
(except  commissions  and  appointments  of  officers  of  the 
army,  navy,  ordnance,  or  militia,  of  judges,  and  of  justices 
of  the  peace,)  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

17.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  any  grant,  of  any  liberty, 
privilege,  or  franchise,  under  the  seal  or  sign  manual,  of 
any  governor,  proprietor,  or  public  officer,  alone,  or  in 
conjunction  with  any  other  person  or  persons,  or  with  any 
council,  or  any  council  and  assembly,  or  any  exemplifi 
cation  of  the  same,  shall  be  engrossed,  written,  or  printed, 
within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of 
six  pounds. 

18.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of  spirituous 
liquors,  to  be  granted  to  any  person  who  shall  take  out 
the  same,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations  a  stamp 
duty  of  twenty  shillings. 

19.  For  eveiy  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of  wine,  to  be 
granted  to  any  person  who  shall  not  take  out  a  license  for 
retailing  of  spirituous  liquors,  within  the  said  colonies  and 
plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  four  pounds. 

20.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  license  for  retailing  of  wine,  to  be 
granted  to  any  person  who  shall  take  out  a  license  for 
retailing  of  spirituous  liquors,  within  the  said  colonies  and 
plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  three  pounds. 


376  STAMP    ACT. 

21.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  veJlum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  probate  of  will,  letters  of  admin- 
.istration,  or  of  guardianship  for  any  estate  above  the  value 

of  twenty  pounds  sterling  money,  within  the  British  col 
onies  and  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  America,  the 
islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama 
islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

22.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  such  probate,  letters  of  administra 
tion  or  of  guardianship,  within  all  other  parts  of  the  Brit 
ish  dominions  in  America,  a  stamp  duty  of  ten  shillings. 

23.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  payment  of  any 
sum  of  money,  not  exceeding  the  sum  often  pounds  ster 
ling  money,  within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations 
upon  the  continent  of  America,  the   islands   belonging 
thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama  islands,  a  stamp 
duty  of  six  pence. 

24.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  payment  of  any 
sum  of  money,  above  ten  pounds,  and  not   exceeding 
twenty   pounds   sterling   money,    within   such    colonies, 
plantations,  and  islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

25.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  bond  for  securing  the  payment  of  any 
sum  of  money  above  twenty  pounds,  and  not  exceeding 
forty  pounds  sterling  money,  within  such  colonies,  plan 
tations,  and  islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling  and  six 
pence. 

26.,  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment  or 


STAMP    ACT.  377 

slieet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  order  or  warrant  for  surveying  or  set 
ting  out  any  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred 
acres,  issued  by  any  governor,  proprietor,  or  any  public 
officer,  alone,  or  in  conjunction  with  any  other  person  or 
persons,  or  with  any  council,  or  any  council  and  assembly, 
within  the  British  colonies  and  plantations  in  America,  a 
stamp  duty  of  six  pence. 

27.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed,  writ 
ten,  or  printed,  any  such  order  or  warrant  for  surveying 
or  setting  out  any  quantity  of  land  above  one  hundred  and 
not  exceeding  two  hundred  acres,  within  the  said  colonies 
and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shilling. 

28.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  order  or  warrant  for  survey 
ing  or  setting  out  any  quantity  of  land  above  two  hundred 
and  not  exceeding  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and 
in  proportion  for  every  such  order  or  warrant  for  survey 
ing  or  setting  out  every  other  three  hundred  arid  twenty 
acres,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,   a  stamp 
duty  of  one  shilling  and  six  pence. 

29.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  or 
sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  original  grant,  or  any  deed,mesne 
conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,   by  which 
any  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  acres, 
shall  be  granted,  conveyed  or  assigned,  within  the  British 
colonies  and  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  America, 
the  islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Ba 
hama  islands  (except  leases  for  any  term  not  exceeding 
the  term  of  twenty-one  years),  a  stamp  duty  of  one  shil 
ling  and  six  pence. 

30.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment,  01 


378  STAMP    ACT. 

sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engiossed 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any  such 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever, 
by  which  any  quantity  of  land,  above  one  hundred  and 
not  exceeding  two  hundred  acres,  shall  be  granted,  con 
veyed,  or  assigned,  within  such  colonies,  plantations,  and 
islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings. 

31.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any  such 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever, 
by  which  any  quantity  of  land,  above  two  hundred,  and 
riot  exceeding  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  shall  be 
granted,   conveyed,  or   assigned,   and  in  proportion  for 
every  such  grant,  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  in 
strument,  granting,  conveying,  or  assigning,  every  other 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  within  such  colonies, 
plantations,  and  islands,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings  and 
sixpence. 

32.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any  such 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever, 
by  which  any  quantity  of  land,  not  exceeding  one  hundred 
acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  within  all 
other  parts  of  the  British  dominions  in  America,  a  stamp 
duty  of  three  shillings, 

33.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any  such 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever, 
by  which  any  quantity  of  land,  above  one  hundred  and  not 
exceeding  two  hundred  acres,  shall  be  granted,  conveyed 
or  assigned,  within  the  same  parts  of  the  said  dominions 
a  stamp  duty  of  four  shillings. 


STAMP    ACT.  379 

o4.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  original  grant,  or  any  such 
deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever, 
by  which  any  quantity  of  land,  above  two  hundred  and 
not  exceeding  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  shall  be 
granted,  conveyed,  or  assigned,  and  in  proportion  for 
every  such  grant,  deed,  mesne  conveyance,  or  other  in 
strument,  granting,  conveying,  or  assigning  every  other 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  within  the  same  parts  of 
the  said  dominions,  a  stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

35.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  grant,  appointment,  or  admission, 
of  or  to  any  beneficial  office   or  employilfent,  not  herein 
before  charged,  above  the  value  of  twenty  pounds  per  an 
num  sterling  money,  in  salary,  fees,  and  perquisites,  or 
my  exemplification  of  the  same,  within  the  British  colo 
nies  and  plantations  upon  the  continent  of  America,  the 
islands  belonging  thereto,  and  the  Bermuda  and  Bahama 
islands  (except  commissions  of  officers  of  the  army,  navy, 
ordnance,  or  militia,  and  of  justices  of  the  peace),  a  stamp 
duty  of  four  pounds. 

36.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  such  grant,  appointment,  or  ad 
mission,  of  or  to  any  such  public  beneficial  office  or  em 
ployment,  or  any  exemplication  of  the  same,  within  all 
other  parts  of  the  British  dominions  in  America,  a  stamp 
duty  of  six  pounds. 

S7.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  indenture,  lease,  conveyance, 
contract,  stipulation,  bill  of  sale,  charter  party,  protest,  ar 
ticles  of  apprenticeship  or  covenant  (except  for  the  hire 


380  STAMP     ACT. 

of  servants  not  apprentices,  and  also  except  such  other 
matters  as  herein  before  charged),  within  the  British  colo 
nies  and  plantations  in  America,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shil 
lings  and  six  pence. 

38.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper  on  which  any  warrant  or  order 
for  auditing  any  public  accounts,  beneficial  warrant,  order, 
grant,  or  certificate,  under  any  public  seal,  or  under  the 
seal  or  sign  manual  of  any  governor,  proprietor,  or  public 
officer,  alone,  or  in  conjunction  with  any  person  or  per 
sons,  or  with  any  council,  or  any  council  and  assembly,  not 
herein  before  charge,  or  any  passport  or  letpass,  surren 
der  of  office,  or  policy  of  assurance,  shall  be  engrossed, 
written  or  printed  within  the  said   colonies  and  planta 
tions  (except  v^trrants  or  orders  for  the  service  of  the  ar 
my,  navy,  ordnance,  or  militia,  and  grants  of  offices  under 
twenty  pounds  per  annum,  in  salary,  fees,   and  perqui 
sites)  a  stamp  duty  of  Jive  shillings. 

39.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written  or  printed,  any  notarial  act,  bond,  deed,  letter  of 
attorney,  procuration,  mortgage,  release,  or  other  obliga 
tory  instrument,  not  herein  before   charged,  within  the 
said  colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  sJiillings 
and  three  pence. 

40.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shall  be  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  register,  entry,  or  enrolment  of 
any  grant,  deed,  or  other  instrument  whatsoever,  herein 
before  charged,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plantations, 
a  stamp  duty  of  tJtree  pence. 

41.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  shaK  bo  engrossed, 
written,  or  printed,  any  register,  entry,  or  any  enrolment 
of  any  grant,  deed,  or  other  instrument  whjtff^rer,  *>** 


STAMP    ACT.  3S\ 

herein  before  charged,  within  the  said  colonies  and  plan, 
tations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  shillings. 

42.  And  for  and  upon  every  pack  of  playing  cards,  and 
all  dice,  which  shall  be  sold  or  used  within  the  said  colo 
nies  and  plantations,  the  several  stamp  duties  following 
(that  is  to  say) ; 

43.  For  every  pack  of  such  cards,  one  shilling. 

44.  And  for  every  pair  of  such  dice,  ten  shillings. 

45.  And  for  and  upon  every  paper  called  a  pamphlet, 
and  upon  every  newspaper,  containing  public  news,  or 
occurrences,  which  shall  be  printed,  dispersed,  and  made 
public,  within  any  of  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  and 
for  and  upon  such  advertisements  as  are  hereinafter  men 
tioned,  tne  respective  duties  following  (that  is  to  say) ; 

46.  For  every  such  pamphlet  and  paper,  contained  in 
a  half  sheet,  or  any  lesser  piece  of  paper,  which  shall  be 
BO  printed,  a  stamp  duty   of  one  half-penny  for  «very 
printed  copy  thereof. 

47.  For  every  such  pamphlet  and  paper  (being  larger 
than  half  a  sheet,  and  not  exceeding  one  whole  sheet), 
which  shall  be  printed,  a  stamp  duty  of  one  penny  for 
every  printed  copy  thereof. 

48.  For  every  pamphlet  and  paper,  being  larger  than 
one  whole  sheet,  and  not  exceeding  six  sheets  in  octavo, 
or  in  a  lesser  page,  or  not  exceeding  twelve  sheets  in 
quarto,  or  twenty  sheets  in  folio,  which  shall  be  so  printed 
a  duty  after  the  rate  of  one  shilling  for  every  sheet  of  any 
kind  of  paper  which  shall  be  contained  in  one  printed 
copy  thereof. 

49.  For  every  advertisement  to  be  contained  in  any  ga 
zette,  newspaper,  or  other  paper,  or  any  pamphlet  which 
shall  be  so  printed,  a  duty  of  two  shillings. 

50.  For  every  almanac,  or  calendar,  for  any  one  particu* 
,ar  year,  or  for  any  time  less  than  a  year,  which  shall  be 
written  or  printed  on  one  side  only  of  any  ono  sheet,  skin. 


382  STAMP    ACT 

or  piece  of  paper,  parchment,  01  vellum,  within  the  said 
colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  two  pence. 

51.  For  every  other  almanac  or  calendar,  for  any  one 
particular  year,  which  shall  be  written  or  piinted  within 
the  said   colonies  and  plantations,  a  stamp  duty  of  four 
'pence. 

52.  And   for  every  almanac   or  calendar,   written  or 
printed  in  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  to  serve  for 
several  years,   duties  to  the  same   amount   respectively 
shall  be  paid  for  every  such  year. 

53.  For  every  skin  or  piece  of  vellum  or  parchment, 
or  sheet  or  piece  of  paper,  on  which  any  instrument,  pro 
ceeding,  or  other  matter  or  thing  aforesaid,  shall  be  en 
grossed,  written,  or  printed,  within  the  said  colonies  and 
plantations,  in  any  other  than  the  English  language,  a 
stamp  duty  of  double  the  amonnt  of  the  respective  duties 
before  charged  thereon. 

54.  And  there  shall  be  also  paid,  in  the  said  colonies 
and  plantations,  a  duty  of  six  pence  for  every  twenty  shil 
lings,  in  any  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  pounds  sterling  mo 
ney,  which  shall 'be  given,  paid,  contracted,  or  agreed  for, 
with  or  in  relation  to  any  clerk  or  apprentice,  which  shall 
be  put  or  placed  to  or  with  any  master  or  mistress,  to 
learn  any  profession,  trade,  or  employment.     II.  And  alsc 
a  duty   of  one  shilling  for  every  twenty  shillings,  in  any 
sum  exceeding  fifty  pounds,  which  shall  be  given,  paid, 
contracted,  or  agreed  for,  with,  or  in  relation  to,  any  such 
clerk  or  apprentice. 

55.  Finally,  the  produce  of  all  the  aforementioned  du 
ties  shall  be  paid  into  his  majesty's  treasury  ;  and  there 
held  in  reserve,  to  be  used  from  time  to  time  by  the  par 
liament,  for  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  neces 
sary  for  the  defence,  protection,  and  security  of  the  said 
colonies  and  plantations. 


CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION. 


THE  NAMES  OF  THE  DELEGATES  TO  THE  CONVENTION 
WHICH  MET  AT  PHILADELPHIA,  IN  MAY,  1787,  TO  FRAME 
A  NEW  CONSTITUTION,  WERE  AS  FOLLOWS  : 

New  Hampshire,  on  the  27th  of  June,  1787,  appointed 
John  Langdon,  John  Pickering,  Nicholas  Gilman,  and 
Benjamin  West. 

Massachusetts,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1787,  appointed 
Francis  Dana,  Elbridge  Gerry,  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Rufus 
King,  and  Caleb  Strong. 

Connecticut,  on  the  second  Thursday  of  May,  1786,  ap 
pointed  William  Samuel  Johnson,  Roger  Sherman,  and 
Oliver  Ellsworth. 

New  York,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1787,  appointed  Ro 
bert  Yates,  John  Lansing,  jr.,  and  Alexander  Hamilton. 

New  Jersey,  on  the  23d  of  November,  1780,  appointed 
David  Brearley,  William  Churchill  Houston,  William  Pat- 
erson,  and  John  Neilson ;  and  on  the  8th  of  May,  1787, 
added  William  Livingston,  and  Abraham  Clark  ;  and  on 
the  5th  of  June,  1787,  added  Jonathan  Dayton. 

Pennsylvania,  on  the  30th  of  December,  1786,  appointed 
Thomas  Mifflin,  Robert  Morns,  (George  Clymer,  Ja;ed  In- 
gersoll,  Thomas  Fitzsimons,  jamfts  Wilson,  and  Gouver- 
neur  Morris;  and  on  the  28th  of  March,  1787,  addea 
Benjamin  Franklin. 

Delaware,  on  the  3d  of  February,  1787,  appointed 
George  Reed,  Gunning  Bedford,  jr.,  John  Dickinson 
Richard  Bassett,  and  Jacob  Broom. 


384  CONSTITUTIONAL    CONVENTION. 

Maryland,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1787,  appointed  Jamea 
M'Henry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  Daniel  Carroll, 
John  Francis  Mercer,  and  Luther  Martin. 

Virginia,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1786,  appointed 
George  Washington,  Patrick  Henry,  Edmund  Randolph, 
John  Blair,  James  Madison,  jr.,  George  Mason,  and 
George  Wythe.  Patrick  Henry  having  declined  his  ap 
pointment  as  deputy,  James  M'Clure  was  nominated  to 
supply  his  place. 

North  Carolina,  in  January,  1787,  elected  Richard 
Caswell,  Alexander  Martin,  William  Richardson  Davie, 
Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  and  Willie  Jones.  Richard 
Caswell  having  resigned,  William  Blourit  was  appointed 
a  deputy  in  his  place.  Willie  Jones  having  also  declined 
his  appointment,  was  supplied  by  Hugh  Williamson. 

South  Carolina,  on  the  8th  of  March,  1787,  appointee! 
John  Rutledge,  Charles  Pinckney.  Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney,  and  Pierce  Butler. 

Georgia,  on  the  10th  of  February,  1787,  appointed 
William  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin,  William  Pierce,  George 
Walton,  William  Houston,  and  Nathaniel  Pendletcfl 


Tin: 


U]V 


\' 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below, 
or  on  the  date  to  which  renewed.  Renewals  only: 

Tel.  No.  642-3405 

Renewals  may  be  made  4  days  prior  to  date  due. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


QCTl 


. 


9Nov'54: 


OCT2919 

LD  21-100m-9,'4 


LD2lA-10m~8,'73 
(R1902S10)476— A-31 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


V  Q 

ID 


